The Dark Pixie
by bjpboy8008
Summary: What is Vidia's Story? What is her past? How did she become who she is? This is just my take on the tragic early life of Vidia. The hard world she grew up in, the romance she kindled, her relationship with Clarion, and more! On Hiatus. Will try to continue soon.
1. The Dark Age of Pixie Hollow

**Well, here we are. I've been wanting to write this Vidia origin for so long, but it's taken me a while to figure out how it would play out and where it would go. But now, I think I have a pretty good idea of how to make it happen.**

**Before it starts, there's a few things I should make clear to you all. My intention is for this story to be very dark and tragic. Some of you may not associate the Disney Fairies with violence and death and tragedy, but I personally think that anything, even the softest, cutest kids stories can be taken seriously as a darker and more adult thing if handled properly. Also, I won't be putting intros at the beginning of every chapter like I normally do unless I have something important to say. It just doesn't seem right for me to put intros in when I have nothing to say.**

**This story is rated M for strong graphic violence, disturbing content, and sexuality.**

**Some of the fairies are Disney's creation. The ones you don't recognize are mine.**

**Now that that's out of the way, allow me to set the stage for this little tale...**

**_This takes place around a thousand years ago. Long before Tinker Bell and Peter Pan, and Pixie Hollow is embroiled in a deadly conflict... _**

The two fairies lay silent in the tall grass. They didn't move any part of their bodies even an inch. They could almost easily be mistaken for dead. The world around them fell silent as well, as if even the earth, itself wanted them to succeed. A cool breeze blew through the tall grass, making a faint hissing sound, almost like that of a snake. Conditions could hardly be more ideal. At the side of each fairy there lay a bow with a single arrow. On their backs they carried a pack with more arrows. Hopefully, if everything went according tho plan tonight, they wouldn't have to use more than one each.

Months and months of planning had gone into this. After years of turmoil, years of pain and suffering, it could all end on this very night. Queen Veronica's reign of terror could finally be quelled. But first, this mission had to succeed, and the first stage of it was currently in progress.

When the time felt right, both fairies slowly raised themselves up from the ground. They were clothed in dark green and brown dressing, making them almost impossible to spot, especially from above. Ahead of them was outer perimeter wall surrounding the Home Tree. The wall was contructed years ago when the civil unrest became a rebellion. No fairy would dare try to fly over it, not with the ever-alert guadrs patrolling it constantly, ready to shoot down any intruders with their poisoned-tipped arrows.

But luckily, tonight, just as they had been told by their inside-man, the guards were short-handed. The many small skirmishes and battles that had been fought in the past few months had worn down Veronicas elite guard. Only two fairies could be seen patrolling the upper part of the wall. One for each of the two in the tall grass.

"Do you see any others?" One if them asked quietly.

After a brief pause, the other fairy answered.

"No, just those two."

The other fairy breathed a contented sigh.

"Just like we were promised." She said.

Niether of these fairies looked like anyone would expect a warrior to look like. Sandy had been a humble Water Fairy long ago. She had lived a simple, carefree life until her lover was brutally slaughtered along with hundreds of other fairies and sparrow-men by Veronica's soilders during a peaceful protest against her plans to tear down his village to create a recruiting center for more of her soilders. Now, Sandy worked non-stop alongside her fellow rebles bring down the tyrant who had taken so much from her.

The other fairy, Violet, was a Garden Talent who had at one point Shared Veronica's vision a new, improved Pixie Hollow. She was even recruited to be one of Veronica's highest-ranking guards. But once Veronica's brutal tactics to achieve her goals became apparent, Violet began to realize the mistake she made. It was when she refused to execute a group of fairies that were expected to be rebles but were not given due process that she fully renounced the sadistic queen. She paid dearly for her insubordination, though. She was imprisoned and tortured horribly on a regular basis for nearly five years. She was eventually rescued by rebles during a daring prison raid of which the purpose was to find more fairies and sparrow-men to join their cause. Violet happily accepted and had been fighting alongside them ever since. She had completely renounced Veronica and her old ways of thinking. It took some time to convince some members of the rebellion that shw was truly on their side, but her hard work and extreme dedication to see Veronica fall eventually won them over.

The whole rebellion was made up of fairies and sparrow-men just like Sandy and Violet. They had all at one point led very simple lives, but were now fighting ferociously to live that way again. It had not been an easy journey in any way. For half a century there had been bloodshed, death, and destruction across the once peaceful Pixie Hollow. Some thought it would never end. But now, on this very night, it seemed very likely that it could all end. Peace would once again be restored.

Sandy and Violet both pulled their bows up into the aiming position. They focused their sights on one guard each and pulled back on their arrows. The guards stared out of the vast expanse of tall grass before them. They scanned the area at least two times, looking directly at Sandy and Violet as they did, but being able to see them. Their camo was too good. The heavy cloud cover that blocked the moon and stars made shadows impossible to see as well.

"We have to hit them at the same time." Violet whispered over the cool wind. "We can't give either of them a second to react."

"I'm ready." Sandy said as she gripped the bow as tightly as she could. They both aimed right for the necks.

"On three..." Violet said. "One... two... three!"

They fired their arrows with two soft twangs from the bows that were so close together they sounded like one twang.

In an instant, both guards dropped. Two small grunts could be heard as they fell. Then it was completely silent again. Sandy and Violet remained motionless, listening for any sudden shouts alarm sounds. None came, and they both felt a deep wave of relief wash over them. The other rebeles had had the same luck as them.

Groups of two or three had surrounded all four sides of wall and dealt with the guards on thier respective sides. Now all they had to do was regroup at the top of the wall and puch forward together into the Home Tree. There, they would meet up with their inside man, a Tinker Sparrow-Man named Jake, who had spent months working his way through Veronica's fortress, gaining the trust of the guards, pretending to be another one of Veronica's devoted followers. All the while he was feeding info to the rebelion about weak spots in the Home Trees defense, the patroling patterns of the guards, and other useful tid-bit for a reble army seeking to overthrow a dictator. Hopefully, he will have taken care of any other guards in the Home Tree, and he will lead ther rebles to where ever Veronica is, and they will finish her, bringing an end to the dark age of Pixie Hollow.

"I think we're good to go." Sandy whispered.

"I think so too." Violet whispered back.

And with that, they took off as quickly and quietly as they could. They landed on the upper part of the wall and gaged their surroundings. At their feet lay the two guards, a fairy and sparrow-man, both fully decked out in the black, snail shell armor that all of Veronica's guards and soldiers wore. The necks and areas beneath the arms were the only weak spots. Both arrows had hit them dead center through their throats. Small pools of blood formed under each of them.

Sandy stared down at the dead fairy with particular interest. Violet seemed to notice it in here eyes and approached her carefully.

"Whats wrong?" She asked, concerned.

After a brief pause, Sandy spoke.

"This fairy, she looks familier. I think she may have been in the group that took Simon from me."

And suddenly, Sandy began to kick and spit on the dead fairy. She soon started sobbing, and Violet felt she had to step in. She threw her arms around Sandy and held her tightly yet gently.

"Sandy, calm down!" She said has sympathetically as she could. "I know how you're feeling! We've all suffered greatly these past years, but it's going to end real soon! We have to finish the job before we let our emotions get ahead of us!"

Sandy went limp. Her sobs quieted a bit. Violet wanted to say something more comforting, but before she could, she caught some movement at the corner of her eye. She quickly let go of Sandy and spun toward it. But she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was. Marco, a Light Talent was rounding the corner of the wall with two other rebles. He nodded at Violet, and she nodded back. At the other corner behind them, Crystal, a Frost Talent was coming around with her partner. Three more Rebles came around to them after a while, and all ten of them were together.

"Well, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Marco said in an upbeat tone.

"Oh yeah, that was a real breeze." Crystal said sarcastically. "The wind was heavier on our side so we had to take that into account while we were lining up our shots."

"But everyone succeeded, right?" Violet asked. "All the guards were takin' out without alerting anyone else?

Everyone nodded, and Violet breathed a quick sigh of relief.

"Okay, well, we're not done yet." She said. "Now, we wait for the signal from Jake."

They all turned to face the Home Tree, whose glow had faded tremedously in the past decades of Veronica's rule. Veronica reserved most Pixie Dust for herself and for her guards, and she was sucking the well dry with the amount she took every day. Rebles were forced to make their own Pixie Dust with much less efficient tools. They still managed to make enough to sustain themselves, but it wasn't at all easy.

The group just stood there staring at the tree in silence for a good few minutes. Their heads were spinning with thoughts of what they were about to do. They would be honered forever as heroes if they pulled this off. After a while, Marco voiced his thoughts aloud.

"Can you believe this is it?" He said.

"It's pretty amazing, I won't lie." A Scout Talent named Jenny said. "Soon Veronica will be gone."

"And Clarion will take over." Micheal, a Dust Talent said.

"You know something," Crystal said angrily. "Why didn't Clarion come with us on this? If she's supposed to be our big, fearless leader, why isn't out here leading the charge?"

"You know darn well why she can't come out here!" Violet snapped. "She's too valuable to the cause! Mother Dove, herself selected her to be the next Queen of Pixie Hollow! We can't risk her safety, even for something as important as this!"

Crystal snorted, but didn't say anything. She had never cared much for Clarion. The only reason she stuck with her was because it was better than siding with Veronica. At least Clarion wasn't pure evil.

Violet turned to Sandy, who hadn't said a word for quite a while. She still looked deeply upset.

"Sandy, are you okay?" She asked gently.

Sandy simply nodded. But Violet could tell she was lying. This whole situation had shaken Sandy to her core. Violet wrapped an arm around her and held her tight.

"It's a terrible thing that happened, Sandy." She said. "But tonight, we're going to make sure it never happens again. Tonight, every innafter thisocent fairy and sparrow-man whos was wrongfully killed by that witch will be avenged."

"And then what?" Sandy snapped suddenly. "What will we have after this? There's nothing more Veronica can take from me! Killing her isn't going to bring back my Simon, or any others who we lost! How are we supposed to go on after this?"

Everyone seemed deeply affect by what Sandy had just said, and nobody answered at first. Crystal remembered a close friend of hers who was killed in a small battle with Veronicas soldiers in Tinkers Nook, and a single tear fell from her eye. After a moment of silence for the fallen, Violet spoke up.

"We live." She said. "That's how we go on. We just continue to live our lives to the fullest everyday. We remember those who died to secure our victory, and we continue to live so that they didn't die in vain."

And that statement seemed to boost everyones morale. Even Sandy seemed inspired as she let a small smile form accross her face. And at that moment, almost as if it were a sign from Mother Dove, a small light shone trom the base of the Home Tree. It was Jakes signal.

"It's time." Marco said.

"For Pixie Hollow!" Crystal cried in a hushed voice.

"For the fallen!" Violet said.

"For Simon." Sandy whispered.

And the group took off for the tree. Their hearts racing and their bodies shaking. It was time to end this once and for all.

**Alright, I just have a few quick things to say before I shut up for the rest of the story. Vidia is coming up soon. A few more chapters tops. Also, PLEASE REVIEW! Don't be shy! I love hearing from you guys. PLEASE GIVE THIS STORY A CHANCE! I know it seems a little crazy and maybe even a bit hard to believe, but come hell or high water: I will make it work! I'll try to upload chapters as often as possible. Two weeks will probably by the longest you'll have to wait. Maybe shorter, maybe longer, depends on how much school work I have. I swear I will finish this story, though. I NEVER ABANDON STORIES! When I start something, I finish it no matter what! Alright, that's all I have to say! More coming soon! Hope you enjoy!**


	2. Within the Home Tree

From the base of the Home Tree, Jake stood waiting for his allies. He waved a small but bright torch back and forth into the night air. In the distance he could see the dim glows of the approaching fairies. Recently, the rebels had learned a way to make their glows dimmer to avoid being discovered during their more stealth based missions. It was truly impressive just how much these fairies had been able to accomplish with such limited resources.

Jake deeply wished he could've been with them more often as they learned these skills, but for the past few months he had been posing as one of Veronicas highest ranking gaurds. He had been ordered by Clarion to infiltrate the ranks of the enemy, learn their ways, and report any information he found out back to the rebels. The patrolling patterns of the gaurds, the layout of the Home Tree, and any other useful tidbits he could find. When Clarion felt they knew enough, she ordered an assaination on Veronica. With the information Jake had given them, it was decided that this night would be the best night to carry it out, when the patrolling patterns of the guards was the easiest to work with.

For Jake, the past few months had been a life-altering experience. He had joined the rebellion, not necessarily because he was stong believer in their cause or because he wanted a change for Pixie Hollow, but because he wanted to feel useful to someone. He had been a very quiet sparrow-man who kept mostly to himself during his days as a Tinker. The rebels didn't know much about him, but one of the things they _did_ know was that he was good at what he did, and they needed somebody like him to make tools and weapons. When they approached him and asked for his support, he agreed, but his personality was not much different than before. He still kept to himself as he worked. He wasn't unfriendly or anything. He would usually give a friendly "hello" or nod of the head to anyone who greeted him. But other than that, he didn't say much.

When the idea fot the assasination came about, it was a huge shock to everyone that Clarion had chosen Jake to act as the double agent. But Clarion had a good reson for it. Jake was relatively unknown to most of Pixie Hollow. He had never shown his face during any battles due to the fact that he never took part in them, he only made the weapons. No one would suspect him, and the rebels had to agree that it was a clever idea. Once again, Jake was willing to go through with it. It was his chance to feel useful again, which was all he wanted, though no one knew that because he never said anything about it.

Jake was recruited, but was at first given the lowly job of patrolling villages like Tinkers Nook (his own home) and just making sure that order was kept. The Rebels knew they had to give him a way to show off any fighting skills he had and possibly get promoted, so they staged a fake attack on a supply wagon that he was the sole guardian of. They made it appear as though he had single handedly fought them off. His accomplishment was reported to higher ranking guards, and was given their status. From there, Jake continued to work his way up through the ranks until he was eventually made into an elite guard, who were the highest rank of them all. These gaurds were charged with protecting Veronica, herself. They were the only guards who actually got to come into contact with her.

Jakes skills had been mentioned to her and she, herself personally commended him at one point. Veronica and the gaurds had made Jake feel better about himself than anyone else ever had. He recieved more praise from them for his skill than he had from the Rebels. It was what he truly wanted more than anything else in the world, just to feel needed. But now, tonight, her had to show his true colors, or at least what he thought were his true colors. His job was to take out all the elite guards who stood between the Rebels and Veronicas chambers. He had to take out the people who he had spent more time with than he had with any of the Rebels. People who he had become closer to than anyone else. Now he stood there, waving his torch, prepared to lead the group to what they hoped would be the end of Veronica.

Violet was the first to land in front of him, with Sandy and Marco at her sides. The others all gathered behind them. Violet gave Jake a small, but warm smile, which he tried to return, but found that he couldn't.

"Hello, Jake." Violet said kindly, extending her hand. "It's been so long since we've seen you. How've you been?"

"Alright... I've been alright." Jake replied, taking her hand and briefly shaking it. "It's been quite a time playing these dual roles, having to sneak back and forth every night. I'm just glad I won't have to do it anymore after tonight."

"Yeah, we hope." Marco said under his breath.

"Is everything taken care of inside the Home Tree?" Violet asked.

"Yes." Jake said simply.

"You're sure?" Sandy said. "We're not going to go marching there only to find that you forgot a couple of guards, right?"

Jake didn't answer immediately. He seemed deep in thought about something. The others assumed that he was just trying to remember if he got all his targets.

"Everything is ready for you." He finally said.

The others all looked around at each other and nodded. They drew their bows and arrows.

"Lead the way then, Jake." Violet said.

And with that, the group headed into the dark tree. Even with the light from Jakes torch, it was still hard to see further than a few feet in front them. Their foot steps echoed off far off into the distance, leading them to believe that the area they were in was very large. It was a tense situation. With every step they took, it felt as though they would bump into a live gaurd, or maybe stumble over a dead one. It was becoming unbearable. Someone had to break the tension.

"Can you believe I've lived here for about four hundred years and I've never been in this part of the Home Tree?" Jenny said lightly.

"That so?" Micheal asked. "Because I don't think any of us have."

"Yeah, all I've ever seen of this place is the Pixie Dust Well." Jenny replied. "Too bad it's so dark, I bet this place looks incredible."

"Hey, why is it so dark in here anyway?" Marco asked suddenly. "Jake, all we wanted was for you to take out the guards, not the lights."

"I just figure it'd be best to play it safe." Jake said. "I haven't taken out every guard. I only got the ones who patrol this area."

"Well, you do know where we're going, right?" Crystal asked.

"Oh, yes." Jake said in almost a dark tone. "I know exactly where we're going." He paused for a moment, then said quietly "I know this place by heart."

As they continued onward, Violet turned to Sandy. She wanted to say something encouraging, but saw that the look on her face was deadly serious, so she said nothing. Violet hadn't met Sandy til after she had lost her love. She smiled very rarely and almost alwys seemed to have a tear in the corner of her eye. Violet wished she could've known Sandy before all this had happened. She seemed like a wonderful girl.

After walking for about ten minutes, Jake held the torch out further in front of him and it lit up a plain, wooden door.

"This is Veronica's chambers right here." He said.

The fairies and sparrow-men all looked at the door apprehensively.

"Really? This is it?" Violet asked.

Jake just nodded.

"It's just, this seems a little plain to be the door to the Queens chambers." Violet said.

"Have you ever been in here before?" Jake asked.

"No, but-"

"Then you wouldn't know, would you."

Violet looked around at everyone, and they all looked as nervous as her. Still, Jake had a point: none of them would know this place except for him.

"Well, alright then." Violet said. She then turned to Sandy. "Are you ready?"

"I've waited so long for this." She whispered. "I wish Simon could've lived to see this day."

"We'll make him proud." Violet said.

She turned back to the others and gave them all nods. They all nodded back, a sign that they were ready. Violet turned back to Jake and gave him the nod. He pushed open the door and stepped aside to allow them in.

The rebels entered one by one, their arrows drawn and held at the ready. This room was no brighter than the last one. In fact, it seemed even darker. When all ten of them were in, they huddled together and pointed their arrows in different directions.

"It's too dark in here." Marco hissed. "We need that torch. Where's Jake? Would somebody please get a light on in here?"

"I'll give you some light..." a cold voice from above them said.

The rebels snapped their aim upwards, but were immediately blinded by bright lights from large lanterns. Soon the whole room was lit up, and when their vision cleared, they knew this was not the Queens chambers. They were in a large open area with no cover anywhere around them. Above them were a large group of balconies that encircled the whole room. And in these balconies were hundreds of guards and soldiers aiming their arrows at them. The rebels were greatly out-numbered, and behind them, Jake was blocking the door. Violet stared at him confused for a moment, but a sinister laughter from above them caught her attention.

"Oh, this is just too perfect." It said nastily.

On one of the balconies, a group of soldiers parted way to allow a sparrow-man with much bulkier and heavier armor to pass through. He had short black hair and a sharp, pointed face. He smiled wickedly down at the group. Violet glared up at him with rage in her eyes.

"Irving!" She hissed.

The sparrow-man gave a small bow and lept over the railing of the balcony, slowly flittering down to them. General Irving was the highest ranking gaurdian and the commander of Veronica's army. During his years as General, he had proven to be more than willing to carry out Veronica's sadistic agenda. He had personally over-seen many massacres, including the one that took Sandy's love. He was also the one who performed executions on suspected rebels or anyone who was believed to have offended the Queen in some way. Killing rebels was his favorite past-time, but he would also settle for anyone who got in his way.

When Violet had been a guard for Veronica, Irving had shown a romantic interest in her. But she had never liked him, nor did she approve of his brutal tactics. When she had angrily refused him at one point, Irving swore to make her pay, and when she was imprisoned for insubordination, he made a point of attending all of her torture sessions. Now he approached her and looked her over. He chuckled at the look of rage she gave him.

"You know I think I preferred you when you wore our armor." He said, laughing.

"Well, I always thought it made people look fat." Violet replied. "But I guess no one told you that."

Irving just laughed even harder. The other rebels glared angrily at him, particularily Sandy. To her, he would always be known as Irving the Butcher, and she longed to bleed him out slowly. Iriving looked over the rest of the group and his laughter died down.

"Well you all just came loaded for bear, didn't you?" He said lightly. "Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't like the way we were running things around here."

"How did you know about this?" Marco snapped at him.

Irving regarded him with a nasty look.

"What? You mean how did I know about you're pathetic little assasination attempt?" He laughed. "Well, let's just say someone within your worthless little organization knows where his true loyalty s_hould_ lie. Isn't that right, Jake?"

The rebels all turned to Jake, who was looking down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, everyone." He said quietly. "But this is where I belong. This is where I am truly appreciated."

"You sold us out!" Crystal roared at him. "YOU SCUM!"

"You can't win, you know." Jake whispered. "Your cause is hopeless. Veronica is too powerful. She is the only future Pixie Hollow has."

"A FUTURE YOU WON'T LIVE TO SEE!" Crystal screamed.

She drew a knife from a sheath on her boot and lunged at him. Jake didn't even have time to react before she stabbed him right in the throat. He gurgled as his mouth filled with blood. Crystal drove the knife in as far as it would go. Then a sharp pain exploded from her back al the way to her chest. She had been hit by an arrow that a gaurd had fired from the balcony. It struck her right between the shoulder blades and pierced all the way through to her heart. She fell to the ground, gasping for air, then went completely still. She was gone. In front of her, Jake fell to the floor, and he was a done deal, as well.

Violet turned and took a quick shot at Irving. Her arrow bounced off his chest-plate, and he smiled nastily at her. Violet didn't have time to take another shot. She turned to the door and sped off, the other following right behind her.

"SLAUGHTER THEM!" Irving shouted.

Groups of soldiers flittered from the balconies and took off after the rebels. The whole tree was now brightly lit, so there was no longer any need for the torch, luckily. Still the rebels were in too much of a hurry to enjoy the vast hallway that they had earlier wanted to see so badly. It wasn't long before arrows were whizzing past their heads. None of them dared stop to look over their shoulders. Veronica's soldiers were notoriously good shots. And they proved that by hitting Jenny and Micheal right in the back of their heads. There was no point in stopping to help them. They were gone, along with a second sparrow-man who took a few arrows right through his lower back.

Violet could see the exit just up ahead of them, and a brief wave of relief swept over her, but it was short lived when she realized that it wouldn't matter anyway. The soldiers would pursue them all the way to the rebel headquarters if they had to. They couldn't give away that position, so it looked as though they would have to lead them to some secluded area and make what would most likely be their last stand.

Violet looked next to her to see that Sandy was right there. For a brief moment they looked each other in the eye, and it was as if they both knew where this was going. But then, to Violets surprise, Sandy said something.

"Whatever happens, don't look back!" She shouted. "Just keep flying!"

Violet looked confused.

"What are you-"

At that moment, Sandy immediately stopped and turned to face the guards.

"SANDY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Violet shouted, stopping as well.

"GO!" Sandy roared over her shoulder.

And now, Violet knew what was happening.

"SANDY, NO!" She screamed.

She tried to fly back to her, but she was seized around the wrist by Marco and pulled away.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed.

Sandy could hear her screams getting fainter and fainter over her shoulder. Ahead of her, a group of guards approached. Sandy pulled three arrows into her bow and fired them at the same time. Two arrows hit two gurds right in their throats while the third stuck one in the armpit. The gaurds fire simultaneously. Sandy dodged all of them and fired three more arrows back at them. This time all three hit the same guard right in her face.

The guards fired again, and this time Sandy took one in the leg. The pain was severe, but it didn't drop her. She fired another arrow, hitting a guard through his eye. The guards fired back, and Sandy got hit in the side of her gut. This time it was enough to drop her. She fell to the ground, but still managed to hold her bow up. She reached back for her last arrow and pulled it tight in her bow. Ahead of her, she saw Irving making his way up the middle of the group. She aimed right between his eyes. If she couldn't take Veronica, she could at least take her closest ally. She fired a perfect shot, but in one swift motion, Irving caught the arrow in his fist inches from his face. he squeezed it tightly and broke it.

The guards approached Sandy, who was now laying sprawled out on the floor. They raised their bows and arrows and prepared to finish her. But before they could...

"Wait!" Came Irvings voice.

They all turned to face him. He made his way up the center of the group stopped right in front of her. She stared defiantly up at him, and he smiled wickedly down at her.

"Don't kill this one yet." He said. "I have something else in store for her."

And in one swift motion, he smashed his foot into her face, knocking her unconscious.

...

Meanwhile, on the far outskirts of the Home Tree, Violet, Marco, and the others were all hidden in the grass again, catching their breaths. When Violet had finally caught hers, She let out a loud screetch of frustration and kicked a nearby pebble.

"Hey, stay quiet!" Marco hissed. "They might still be following!"

"They're not!" Violet snapped at him. "We have Sandy to thank for that!"

"I know, but-" Marco started.

"Months of planning and preperation for nothing!" Violet roared. "That two-bit snake, Jake! I knew Clarion shouldn't have chosen him! He always seemed like an odd one! Now, not only has he cost us a chance to end this horrible conflict, he's cost us five very brave fairies and sparrow-men, one of which I loved like a sister!"

No one needed to say anything, because Violet had said it all. What was supposed to be their finest hour, had now become their darkest. They stood their in silence for a while, a few sobs escped one of the other fairies. Eventually, Marco broke the silence.

"So, what do we do now?"

Violet sighed, then answered "Clarion has to know that the mission was a failure. Not only that, but none of us wore face paint to hide our identities. Not that it would've done me much good since they already knew me, but the rest of you may never be able to show your faces in public again. You'll be forced to stay within the headquarters from now on. Clarion has to know this."

The others all looked at her apprehensively, and Violet knew they were all too afraid to do this. She sighed again.

"I'll tell her alone, don't worry. I led this mission, it's my responsibility."

The others looked slightly relieved, but Marco still look worried.

"Are you sure?" He asked kindly. "You don't look like you could handle anymore hardships tonight."

"I'm sure." Violet said sadly. "Let's go."

And with that, the defeated rebels took off for the outskirts of Pixie Hollow, where their headquarters was located.

...

Far off the coast of Neverland, a single white flower petal drifted gracefully through the wind, over the calm ocean. Contained within this flower petal was the first laugh of a newborn baby.


	3. The Leader of the Rebels

Clarion stood facing out over the vast expanse of the Rebel camp from the window in her quarters. Her hands folded and her head hanging low. Behind her stood Violet, a considerable distance from Clarion. Violets head hung even lower than Clarions, and her eyes were shut tightly. Spread all over the walls of the room were posters and banners with slogans on them like "Defy the Queen!" "Fight for What's Right!" and "Death to Veronica!" Violet found that she could bare to glance at any of these words. She felt as though she had let them all down.

Clarions eyes, however, were wide open. She was staring intently out at all the Rebels as they flew back and forth across the camp, forging weapons, looking over maps of Neverland, grinding more Pixie Dust, and so on. The scene within the Rebel camp was always chaotic, and Clarion had hoped deeply that tonight would be the last night she ever saw it like this. The Rebel camp was located under the roots of a young and rather discreet oak tree on the outskirts of Pixie Hollow. While the tree itself was smaller than most of the trees surrounding it, the area under the tree was massive. It was the perfect size for the quite large Rebel army, and the fact that it was hidden by a very unoticeable tree made it almost impossible for thier enemy to locate it.

The camp was always lit up no matter what time of day. Fairies and sparrow-men were constantly at work. Most made their homes here as well, while some were unable to leave their homes in Pixie Hollow and were usually going back and forth between both places. Rebels couldn't be spotted instantly on the street since they didn't wear any specific uniforms, so there was no real danger of them being identified by a soldier unless they did something to give themselves away. Still, many felt that it was better to play it safe and stay here rather than remain in Pixie Hollow and risk a random inspection by the guards, who were doing this more and more increasingly in the past few years.

Still, many of them missed thier homes and longed to return. Tonight, it seemed as though they would finally get what they so badly wanted, but Violet had two words for Clarion, and they were enough to dash all those hopes instantly: "We failed."

"You failed?" Clarion said after what semed like the longest time.

Violet didn't respond. She didn't feel that she had to. Her silence said more than any words could. Clarion slowly turned to face her, and as if she could sense it, Violet opened her eyes and lifted her head. She met Clarions weary gaze the instant her eyelids parted. No matter how hard she looked at her, to Violet, Clarion didn't seem to have any of the makings of a leader.

Clarion had been a Light Talent before the conflict broke out. Not much was known about her by anyone. She seemed relatively soft-spoken, and she kept mostly to herself. She seemed content enough not to let others in on most of her personal feelings about most things. However, there was one thing that she _did _want everyone to understand about her: although she hated Veronica as much as the next person, she had absolutely no intention of taking part in any kind of rebellion against her. While other fairies were beginning to forge their own weapons and engage in small skirmishes with Veronicas soldiers, Clarions was constantly turning down requests for her to join them.

"All this violence won't solve anything." She would always say.

But deep in her heart, what she really believed was that a small band of un-trained and inexperienced fairies would stand no chance against the might of Veronicas massive army. She was scared, and she didn't want to die for something she didn't truly believe in. So you can imagine her shock when she was chosen by the most powerful deity in all of Neverland chose _her_ to lead the Rebels against the wicked Queen, and then become their queen, herself, once they had defeated her!

Mother Dove knew all and saw all. She had power that even Veronica couldn't begin to imagine. Yet Mother Dove was forbidden by her own code to directly intervene with the free will of the peoples of Neverland. Still, she could no longer turn a blind eye to the suffering of the fairies. So using her infinate knowledge, she chose one fairy whom she saw greatness in, even if that greatness was unknown to the fairiy, herself at that time, and gave her the task of leading her people to freedom. Mother Dove saw that Clarion was destined to be the greatest Queen that Pixie Hollow would ever have, and though Clarion was extremely skeptical, she knew that Mother Dove was always right, and when she gave an order, it must be followed. And so Clarion became the reluctant leader of the Rebels.

Violet continued to stare into Clarions eyes, and even though she still didn't see a true leader in Clarion, she had to admit that there was still a faint sense of hope that would fill her everytime she looked into those eyes, and though it was _faint, _it sometimes felt like enough.

"Tell me everything that happened, exactly as it happened." Clarion said after a while.

Violet was abruptly snapped out of her trance. She cleared her throat and began.

"Well, it started off quite well, actually. The infiltration went by without a hitch. All guards on the outer wall were neutralized without any casualties on our end or any alarms being raised. On the top of the wall we waited for Jakes signal, and when we got it, we moved in and he led the way from there."

violet went quiet for a moment. She had no idea how she was going to break the news of what happened next. Clarion raised a curious eyebrow and leaned forward a bit.

"Go on." She goaded.

"Oh, um..." Violet stammered. "Well, this is where it... it..." She sighed angrily. "It was a setup! They knew we were coming!"

Clarion looked shocked.

"They knew you were coming?" She said, horrified. "But, that's impossible! We took every measure to keep this operation top secret! The only one who knew every detail of were the ones involved and myself! How could they have-"

"It was Jake!" Violet blurted out. "Jake betrayed us! He told them everything, then led us into their trap!"

"Wha... What?" Clarion said, sounding almost too stunned for words. "Wh- why would he do that?"

"I don't know." Violet replied. "He said something about that place being where he truly belonged. Maybe he just got too attatched to them and decided he was better off on their side."

Clarion sighed and shook her head. She felt as though she should've known something was up with him, and it was her idea to use him as the double agent in the first place. The instant she heard of his betrayal, she immediately felt responsible. Maybe Mother Dove wasn't as all knowing as she thought she was.

"Where is he now?" Clarion asked after a while.

"History." Violet said flatly. "Crystal killed him. Then she took an arrow in the back."

"How- how many did you lose?" Clarion asked apprehensively.

"Half." Violet answered sadly.

Clarion sighed again. "You're sure?"

Violet thought for a moment. Though she didn't technically see Sandy die, it seemed likely that she didn't make it.

"I'm sure." She finally said. "And I feel you should know that Sandy gave her life for ours. She held them off on her own while we escaped."

Clarion nodded slowly and hung her head in remeberance.

"She'll be remembered." She whispered. "They all will."

And at that point, Violet was out of words. She wanted desperately to leave now, but she had a feeling that Clarion had more to say. And indeed after a few minutes, Clarion lifted her head again.

"You know, even if you had succeeded, I don't think I would've been ready." She said.

Violet wasn't particularily surprised by these words. Clarion had never shown any real enthusiasm at her role as leader of the Rebels and future Queen of Pixie Hollow. Violet didn't blame her, either. After all, Clarion had not asked for any of this. She was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and there was nothing she could do about it. Still, Clarion did the best she could with what she had. She did have encouraging words for her Rebels every once in a while, and she was quite good at statagizing and hitting the enemy where they least expected it. For these reasons, Violet did have a tremendous amount of respect for her, though she still had trouble accepting that she was destined to be Queen.

"Clarion, please don't be too hard on yourself." Violet said kindly. "Your plan was sound. Nobody could've predicted that Jake would've done what he did."

"Oh, that's no excuse!" Clarion said, slaming her fist against the wall hard enough to make it shake. "I'm your leader! I'm supposed to know this kind of stuff! Oh, what was Mother Dove thinking when she chose me?"

Violet had to choose her next words carefully, for Clarion sounded dangerously close to a break down.

"Mother Dove does not make mistakes, Clarion." She said confidently. "She chose you because She knew you were destined for this. And whether or not you believe it now, you still have an army of loyal followers who are prepared to die for you if neccessary. You have to be strong for them!"

"I know!" Clarion shrieked. "But... how can I have confidence in them if I don't even have confidence in myself!"

"Clarion, I have confidence in you!" Violet shouted.

The two fell silent for a moment. Clarion stared at Violet with a deeply serious look on her face.

"Do you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes." Violet said simply. "I have more confidence in you than I ever did in Veronica. And when I look into the faces of the others, I see the same look of confidence that I have, and I know that it is placed in you. We need you, Clarion, now more than ever. When we fail, you are the one who must pick us back up set us right again. That's what we need from you right now."

Violet never felt like she was much at inspriational speeches, but she felt slightly proud of the fact that Clarion no longer looked as distraught as she did earlier. In fact, she did look a tad bit inspired.

"I know, Violet." Clarion said with the faintest hint of a smile. "I know."

"So, what's our next move, Your Highness?" Violet asked.

Clarion could've almost chuckled at that, but felt it would be inaproppriate considering the grim circumstances.

"Well first, just call me Clarion for now." She said, getting a slightly ammused look from Violet. "As far as our next plan goes, I'm afraid things look rather grim. We cannot attempt another assassination like the one we just did. Veronica will upped her security and changed the patrol patterns of the guards. They would expect another double agent, so we cannot attempt anything like that ever again." She sighed. "I'm afraid that for now we will just have to continue with our guerilla warfare tactics against them until more opportunities open for us."

Violet nodded confidently gave a small sigh.

"Very well, Clarion. I will trust your judgement."

Clarion nodded back.

"You may leave, Violet. I need a moment alone with my thoughts." She crooned.

"Thank you, Clarion." Violet said with a small curtsy.

Clarion watched as Violet exited the room. When she was gone, she turned back to look out over the camp again. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. On it was written her victory speech. It wasn't much. It was short and not worded particularily well, but Clarion was rather proud of it. It was consice and to the point, but now it would never be read aloud to anyone. Clarion gave an angry sigh and tore it in half.

...

In the hall outside Clarions quarters, Violet immediately came into contact with Marco, who had been waiting for her.

"How'd it go?" He asked.

"Not as bad as thought." Violet answered. "I thought she was gonna scream me silly, but she just seemed really upset. I honestly feel sorry for her. I mean, she didn't ask for any of this, she just sort of had it dumped in her lap. I really feel like we let her down."

Marco put an arm around her shoulder and held her tight.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it too hard. No body could've predicted that that snake Jake would've done what he did." He said.

"I think Clarion had a feeling." Violet said quietly. "She just didn't want to believe it. Can't say I blame her. Nobody ever want's to believe that bad feeling in their gut."

"Yeah," Marco sighed. "I guess we'll just have to continue fighting and see how it all plays out."

Violet just nodded, and the two stood there in silence for a while. Suddenly a loud voice rang out.

"MARCO! VIOLET!" It cried.

The two turned their attention to the direction of the voice. Flying toward them at a tremendous speed was a tall, lanky sparrow-man with short brown hair and very tan skin.

"Creed," Violet greeted. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I need to see Clarion right now!" Creed said exhasperatedly.

"Um, I don't think that would be a very good idea. She's not in the best of moods right now." Marco told him.

"Trust me, she'll _want _to hear this!" Creed said.

"Well, can't you tell us what it is first?" Violet asked.

At that moment, Creed gave her a deathly serious look.

"We have a new arrival!" He said in a shaky voice.

Creed almost laughed at the look on Violet and Marcos faces, but the situation was too serious for him to let out even the slightest chuckle.

"A new arrival?" Violet said, her eyes going wide. "In our possession?"

"Yes!" Creed replied. "We picked it up before the enemy did! We're bringing it in now!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Marco cried. "Get in there and tell her!"

The two stepped aside to allow Creed to pass. Then they took off for the area where new arrivals were brought. There were always new arrivals coming into Pixie Hollow, but Veronicas soldiers almost always picked them up before the Rebels could. In fact, they hadn't picked one up in nearly half a century. But they had one now, and for the first time since the failure of the assassination, Violet and Marco felt hope enter their hearts again. After all, it was the strongest belief of the Rebels that one fairy could easily change everything, and this one fairy could be the one they've been waiting for...

**Thanks for the reviews! :)**


	4. The New Arrival

At the center of the Rebel camp was a large cirular wooden platform that was set up by Tinkers specifically for recieving new arrivals. It had been gathering dust for the past half-century, and many fairies were starting to consider it a nuisance. It was easy for anyone who hadn't gotten their Pixie Dust for the day to trip over or bang their shins on. Yet it was also viewed by some as a symbol of hope. It was the birthing area for the fairy or sparrow-man who could possibly lead them to victory.

Now, a large group was gathered around it. News of the new arrival being brought in spread quickly through the camp, and it seemed as though every Rebel in the area was trying to squeeze through to get a good look at their newest member. Pushing their way through the excitedly murmuring crowd were Violet and Marco. Violet being among the highest ranking members of the Rebels was given the task of making sure the life-giving process went as smoothly as possible. It had been so long since this had lst happened, so she had to try and remember how it went. Marco wasn't necessarily needed in this process since he was not particularily high-ranking, but Violet wanted him up there with her since he always had a tendancy of making her feel more comfortable.

"Excuse me. Please step aside. I need to get through." Violet said irritably as she sifted through the crowd, Marco following close behind.

"So what are you expecting?" Marco asked as he hurried after her. "My money's on a Light Talent. Or possibly a Healer."

"Don't really know, don't really care." Violet said. "Though I have to admit: I hope it's not a Light Talent. I mean no offense, Marco, but you guy's can be pretty hard to conceal during a stealth mission. How the guards didn't spot you tonight, I'll never know."

Marco made a noise like he was about to retort, but before he could, they arrived at the platform, and he suddenly seemed to forget what Violet nhad just said. Now he was too busy scanning the area above them for the fairies who were bringing in the new arrival. Meanwhile, Violet was going over the process as best as she could memorize in her head.

When a fairy or sparrow-man was officially given life, it usually knew it's name and talent immediately, as well as where it was, which was normally the Home Tree in Pixie Hollow. Occassionally it took a little longer for him or her to piece things together in it's head, but they always figured it out before too long. But since this place wasn't the Home Tree, a new arrival could easily become very frightend and confused when they realized they weren't where they should be, leading them to become very unpredictable, sometimes violent. Violet and other high-ranking Rebels had to make sure that everything went off without a hitch during this whole ceremony. Or, at least it used to be a ceremony. Now it was more of a "let's get this over with" thing.

"Hey, you alright?" Came Marcos voice.

Violet, whose eyes wee squeezed shut as she tried to prepare herself, opened them and saw Marcos kind, brown face stareing back at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said with a small smile. "It's just that this has been the longest night of my life, and I just want to get this-"

She was cut off there by Creed, who landed right in front of them.

"So, we all ready?" He asked with a slight look of excitement in his face.

"Yeah, we're ready." Violet said. "Where's Clarion?"

"Not coming." Creed answered. "She want's us to bring the new arrival up to her once we get it all set up. She seemed pretty down about something, actually."

Violet and Marco said nothing, but Creed seemed to piece it together by the looks in their faces.

"I take it the mission was a failure?" He said apprehensively.

"Took you that long to figure it out?" Marco scoffed.

"Gosh, I'm sorry, guy's." Creed said sympathetically. "I guess I shouldn't ask about the details of it then."

Violet gave him a small smile and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Creed." She crooned. "After some time, Marco and I can tell you all about it, maybe over a drink or something."

"Sounds good." Creed said with a smile and a thumbs up.

Violet returned it along with Marco, who gave a significantly more half-hearted effort.

At that moment, a voice rang out above the murmmur of the crowd.

"There it is!"

Everbody gazed upwards at once. High above them were two faireis guiding a single white flower petal with the edges of their fingers down to the wooden platform. When they brought it close enough, the two fairies backed off and let the petal go on its own. The crowd fell deathly silent as it descended. It swooped and twirled gracefully before eventually coming to rest right at the dead center of the platform.

Violet took a deep breath and prepared to approach it. But before she could move up, she felt a hand gently fall upon her shoulder. Someone was clearly trying to hold her back. She turned around expecting to see Marco, but was slightly surprised to find that it was Creed. She gave him a confused look.

"Hey, listen Violet," he began. "You look like you've had a hard day. Would you... maybe like me to handle this for you?"

Now Violet couldn't help showing a bit of her relief at hearing this. It was true that this had been a hard day for her. Heck, it had been an absolute nightmare, and even _that _was an understatment. Still, the polite thing to do was to at least refuse the first offer, but try not to sound too sure.

"I... really think I should probably do it." She said as uneasily as possible. "I mean, Clarion should really be the one doing this. I mean, she is our _leader _after all. But I guess she has her reasons, and I... well, I guess I..." She finally broke apart. "Okay, I seriously just want to go to bed."

Creed gave a sympathetic smile and nod.

"Go on, get out of here." He said kindly. "I'll take care of this."

"You sure?" Violet asked.

"Positive." Creed answered. "I've done this enough times that I know what to do. Sure it's been a while, but you don't really forget how to do this kind of thing."

Violet smiled a bit and nodded her head confidently.

"Alright then. I guess I'll see you both tomorrow." She said with a yawn. She then turned back to Marco. "Goodnight Marco."

"Goodnight Violet." Marco said. "Take it easy, alright?"

Violet gave him a quick smile and pat on the shoulder. It was nice to have such a good friend. She then took off for her quarters. When they lost sight of her, Creed gave Marco a sarcastically stern look.

"Hope you've been treating her right, my friend." He said with a small sneer.

"Do your job already." Marco said in mock nastiness.

Creed chuckled a bit and turned towards the flower petal. Marco couldn't help let a small smile slip as well. These two didn't necessarily dispise each other as many believed. They just had that kind of wierd relationship where they respected each other, but at the same time liked to give each other a hard time. Besides, there was nothing to be gained in making enemies with Creed considering he was among the original Rebels. The ones who immediately joined Clarion when she defected. He was considered among the most loyal and dependable fighters in the whole Rebel army, and was admired by many.

He approached the lone flower petal with a mixture of awe and apprehension. Even at this early stage, he could practically feel the life eminating from it. When he was right up in front of it, he kneeled down and gently placed his hand on top of it. He stroked it gently, trying to get a feel for it. He couldn't explain why, but for some reason he felt that touching the petal this way gave him an idea of what gender it would be. This one definately felt female to him, though he had been wrong a couple times. He turned to his right to see a Dust Talent standing there with a bag of Pixie Dust, waiting to move in and do his job. But Creed held out his hand face up and open palmed.

"Put the correct amount in my hand." He ordered calmly.

"Um, I really think I should be the one to do this part." The Dust Talent said apprehensively. "It is _my _job, after all."

"I know." Creed replied. "But I want to be involved in all aspects of this."

The Dust Talent still seemed unsure and began to stutter a little bit. Creed snapped his fingers for attention and the dust talent straightened up.

"Please trust me." Creed said. "I know what I'm doing."

And there was no mistaking the look in Creeds eyes. He truly _did_ know what he was doing. The Dust Talent bowed his head a bit in defeat and slowly opened his leather pouch. He carefully dumped the proper amount into his hand and approached Creed. He made sure that not a single speck fell to the ground, then slowly backed away when he was done.

Creed closed his fist and brought it over the petal. He held it there for a moment, took some time to mentally prepare himself. When he felt ready, he took a deep breath and slowly turned his fist, letting the Dust slip through his hand and spill onto the petal. The moment the sparkling Dust hit the petal, it seemed to disolve, as if the petal were absorbing it. When his hand was empty, Creed slid back a little and watched intently.

Within seconds, the petal appeared to be expanding and contracting, as if it were breathing. It then began to arch upwards a bit, as though it were developing a back. Two clear, pointy objects poked through it. Wings. Four pink, long appendages slid out from under the petal. The ends of them morphed into what appeared to be hands and feet. Creed watched intently, trying to decipher in his mind just what this new arrival was going to look like.

As it continued to develop, the petals form became more curvey and sleel. Creed gave a small, satified smile. He was right, this new arrival definately appeared to be feminine. Then, the most notable feature of this new arrival made itself apparent. A long, black wisp of matter protruded from the top of the Petal. It was unmistakeably hair, and it flowed all the way down to where her ankles were forming. From the area where the hair was growing, a face began to form. First two closed eyes bulged out a bit, then below them a small pointy nose protruded outward, and below that a thin mouth formed.

Her body was now fully developed. She was covered in the while, silk dress that all fairies were covered in when they first arrived. Her breathing was slow and steady, but her eyes remained closed. Creed didn't make any attempt to intervene just yet. He knew that sometimes it took a little while for a new arrival to get a feel for their new bodies. So he just waited and watched.

Eventually, the new fairies eyelids parted, and Creed felt as though he had the air sucked right out of him. Her eyes were the most beautiful dark shade he had ever seen. They conveyed so much emotion and expression than any other part of her face. He watched in awe as she lifted her hands to the front of her face and gazed at them with fascination, flexing her fingers. Her mouth formed into a small grin, and her eyes showed wonder and excitement at being alive. She then gazed down at her feet and flexed her toes. She let a small giggle escape, and her smile became wider.

Then she gazed over at the large group gathered around her. They stared at her with wonder and interest, and her smile slowly faded to a frown. The excitement in her eyes changed to confusion and fear. Creed saw this instantly and slowly stepped forward with his hand raised.

"Stay calm." He said soothingly. "You're not in any danger."

"This doesn't feel right." The fairy said with a quiver. "This- this isn't right. Where am I? Is this Pixie Hollow?"

"No, not exactly." Creed answered.

And now the new arrival seemed deeply afraid. She made an effort to stand up but couldn't find the strength in her legs, so she stumbled and fell backwards.

"Take it easy, take it easy." Creed said calmly. "You need to let strength grow a bit before you try to move too-"

"WHAT IS THIS?" The fairy shrieked.

The crowd began to murmur a bit and step back from her. A scared new arrival could be very unpredictable, and no one wanted to be too close in case she did something drastic.

"Please, dear, you must remain calm." Creed said a little more forcefully. "Nobody here is going to hurt you, I promise."

The fairiy stared at him coldly. She still appeared skeptical of trusting him. Her cheast heaved in and out as she stared at the world around her. She had pictured the Home Tree constantly in her mind while she was making her journey here, and this was nothing at all like what she thought it was. It was colder, darker, and much less elegant. She heard a shuffle in front her and saw that Creed was settling himself down to her level. She tried to back away again, but still didn't feel like she had the strength to do so. Then she caught a glimpse of his eyes, and they appeared, calm and gentle. Her racing heart slowed a bit, and her breathing became more normal. Creed took this a sign to continue.

"My name's Creed." He said gently. "What's yours?

"M-my name?" The fairy said confusedly.

"Search your mind, you should find it there somewhere." Creed told her.

The fairy closed her eyes and muttered quietly to herself. Nothing came to her. She tried as hard as she could, but couldn't find anything that sounded like a name.

"I-I don't know." She said after a while.

"Okay, that's alright. We'll come back to that one." Creed said kindly. "What about your talent? Do you know what your talent is?"

The fairy closed her eyes again. This time an image of her flying faster than the speed of sound came to her. She could practically feel the wind whipping against her skin.

"I fly really fast." She said, opening her eyes. "I'm a Fast-Flyer."

Creed smiled a bit at hearing this.

"A Fast-Flyer, huh?" He said. "That's what I am. It's nice to have another one here."

And now the fairy seemed to calm down completely. She took another look around at eveyone else and saw that they all looked calm and collected. No one here was going to hurt her. She even managed to give them all a friendly smile, which was returned by most of them. When she looked back at Creed, she saw that he had moved closer and had his hand outstretched to her.

"You want to try standing now?" He asked.

The fairy smiled and nodded. She placed her hand in his, and her gently lifted her. Her legs wobbled a bit at first, but they quickly straightened out when she set them right. She took a shaky first step, then another, and another. Each step she took was more and more graceful. Soon she was walking without the aid of Creed. She even managed to get some applause from the crowd, which made feel even more comfortable.

"Now, how about those wings?" Creed said.

And in an instant, the fairy was airborne. She flew all over the crowd and through the camp. There was no denying she was a fast one. The breeze she created was enough to blow some of the Rebels off their feet. The fairy wanted to go as high as she could, but was unable to do that due to how low the ceiling was. So she twirled around and flew back to the wooden platform, where Creed waited for her with a satisfied look on his face.

"Very impressive." He said as she landed. "You will definately come in handy."

"Come in handy for what?" The fairy asked, an excited smile now stretching across her face.

And then Creed remembered that she had no ideaa where she was or what the state of this world was. This was where the hard part would come. He was going to have to take her to Clarion, who would explain to her just what exactly she was doing here and why she wouldn't be able to work with changing the seasons as she probably expected. Chances were that she wouldn't be smiling for much longer.

"Um... listen, I take you still want an explanation as to why you're here instead of at the Home Tree in Pixie Hollow?"

The fairies smile faded a bit.

"So, this really isn't Pixie Hollow?" She asked.

Creed shook his head.

"No." He told her. "Though you aren't far off. This is a Rebel camp under and oak tree on the _outskirts_ of Pixie Hollow."

"A _what _camp?" The fairy said, the confusion and fear returning to her face.

"A _Rebel _camp." Creed told her. "I'm afraid you've arrived at a rather dark time for Pixie Hollow."

"How so?" The fairy inquired.

"Well, I''m afraid I can't really explain it all that well. It's such a long story, after all. But I can take you to someone who _can _tell you everything."

"Your Queen?"

"Not exactly. But she _is _our leader, and she can explain things better than I can."

Whatever joy and excitment the fairy had been feeling earlier was now completely gone. And when she looked round at the other fairies and sparrowmen in the crowd, she saw that the smiles they had given her seemed rather forced, and now they all looked worn down and defeated. Still, the fairy figured that as long as she was here she might as well try to understand everything before deciding whether or not she liked the situation.

"Alright then, Creed." She said. "Take me to her."

Creed nodded and took off.

"Follow me." He said over his shoulder.

The fairy prepared to take off, but before she did, something dawned oon her. Some thought in the back of her head had just made itself clear to her. Creed stopped turned back to see if she was following. He saw that she was still standing there on the platform with a look of comprehension on her face.

"What is it?" He called down to her.

"Vidia." She said quietly. "My name is Vidia."


	5. A History Lesson

The world around Vidia was becoming much clearer as her shaky vision began to improve. And the more she saw of this world, the more she began to feel uneasy. Noen of these fairies looked at all like what she had pictured in her mind. There were no smiles upon their faces, no happy tunes were being hummed by them as they went about their business of changing the seasons. Instead, their eyes were filled with despair and weariness. Though they did seem busy, it was definately not with changing the seasons. It seemed more like they were preparing for some sorts of violence. they flew around carrying swords and bows and other deadly looking instruments. Some of them appeared to be bloodied and beaten.

The more Vidia saw, the more she waanted to leave this place. Ahead of her, Creed flew onward. He led her into a narrow corridor that had many doors along both sides. Witht the way things looked around here, Vidia was anticipating some crazy person to burst out of one of them and decapitate her with an axe.

_'Some luck I have. The __second I'm born I get abducted by some nut jobs who are probably gonna rip to pieces and send me to whoever the Queen is.' _She thought to herself.

She seriously considered running for it. Maybe she could make it to Pixie Hollow and warn everyone about these fairies. They could be taken care of and she would be a hero for bringing them to the attention of the good, law-biding fairies. That'd be a hell of way to start her life as a fairy.

"We're almost there." Creed said, turning back to her. "Don't worry, everything will be made clear to you soon."

"Yeah, sure." Vidia muttered.

Creed could sense the fear in her voice. He wanted to say something to make her trust him, but he couldn't seem to find any soothing words at the moment. Besides, something about this fairy made him nervous, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Look, are you sure there's nothing that you, yourself can't tell me?" Came Vidias voice from behind him. "I mean, this supposed to be a Rebel camp? It feels more like we're under some rotted out old tree. And all these fairies here are supposed to be Rebels? Well, what exactly is there to rebel against? During my journey here, I had a lot of ideas of what fairies would be like, but I gotta tell ya, this wasn't exactly one of 'em."

Creed stopped abruptly and spun around. He looked slightly annoyed, but also a bit saddened.

"There's a lot you don't understand." He said coldly.

He was a bit surprised to see that Vidia didn't seem the least bit intimidated by him. In fact, she almost seemed amused by his reaction.

"Well, you must not understand much either, considering you don't seem able to tell me anything." She sneered.

Creed couldn't hide the quiver in his eyes when they met hers. He had never seen eyes so deep and dark, so expressive. They amazed him and terrified him at the same time. In that moment, he seemed to have lost his ability to speak. He turned away from her and saw that they were thankfully right outside Clarions quarters. he turned back to her with a newfound look of courage in his face.

"Our leader is right through that door." He said, motioning towards it. "Wait here for a minute. I want to make sure she's ready for you."

Vidias lips curled into a small smile and she nodded.

Creed turned from her again and entered Clarions room. Vidia tried to get a quick look inside, but the door swung shut to quickly for her to make anything out.

The whole hallway was deathly silent. It had been so chaotic in the center of the camp, but none of those noises seemed to make it this far back. Vidia had to admit that she quite liked this silence. She had only been alive for maybe twenty to thirty minutes, and she was already developing likes and dislikes, as weell as a personality. She felt that she had been a bit cold to Creed, but then again, she didn't fully trust this guy. Though nothing aobut him felt immediately threatening to her, she still thought it was better to be safe then sorry. She didn't feel she needed to make a run for it just yet. She would wait and see what was behind that door, and if there was anything in there that remotely resembled a torture device, she was gonna put that Fast-Flying talent to use.

She stood there quietly, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, feeling her body become more and more alive. After what felt like about five minutes, the door opened again and Creed stepped out.

"Go on in." He said. "I'll be waiting for you out here when you're done."

"Oh, now I feel so much better." Vidia said sarcastically as she passed.

She didn't have time to see the reaction on Creeds face because she wanted her attention to be on the room. She was quite surprised to see that it didn't appear to be anything more that a common bedroom. There was nothing remotely elegant or outstanding about it. It didn't appear fit for a leader of any kind. It was small, a little dirty, the bed was rather plain, and there were no threatening devices anywhere to be seen, so Vidia relaxed a bit.

Just ahead of her, she noticed a fairy standing behind a large wooden desk with various maps and papers on it. She was facing out of a large window that gave a view of the Rebel camp below them. Vidia didn't see how a room this deep into the tree could give a view of the center of the camp, but then she figured that it must be giving a view of a different section of the camp. the fairiy turned to face her. She looked wearier and more distressed than any of the other fairies. Her hair was cheastnut colored and dropped past her shoulders. Vidia didn't feel the least bit frightened of her. In fact, the first feeling that came to her was pity. This fairy must've been so beautiful at some point in her life, but now something had worn her down to a nub, and she looked as though she were infected with some kind of deadly illness. But then the fairy managed a small smile, and Vidia felt even more at ease.

"You're Vidia?" The fairy asked.

Vidia nodded. The fairy stretched out her hand towards her.

"I'm Clarion." She said kindly. "It's very nice to have you here."

Vidia slowly moved forward and took Clarions hand in her own. Her grip was weak, and her hands felt callused, worn, and dirty. They released, and Vidia moved her hand behind her back and tried to wipe it without letting Clarion see.

"Please, sit down?" Clarion offered, motioning to a small wooden chair in fron of her desk.

"Thank you." Vidia murmmured.

She sat down, cringing at how uncomfortable the chair was. Across for her, Clarion took a seat in her own chair, and Vidia could tell that she was cringing a bit as well. they sat there in silence for a while. Vidia crossed her legs and wondered if she should speak up first,but saw that Clarion seemed to be pondering what to say as well, so she decided to wait for her to go first.

"So..." Clarion said after a while. "How much did Creed tell you exactly?"

"Not much, miss." Vidia replied, trying to sound as polite as she could. "And what little he did tell me didn't exactly make a lot of sense. He said something about this being some kind of Rebel camp, and that this was a dark time for Pixie Hollow, and that you were our leader."

Clarion sighed and massaged her temples with her fingers.

"Great, he left it up to me to explain all the hard stuff." She moaned under her breath.

"You know, you don't exactly look like much of a leader, miss." Vidia said, ignoring Clarions moan. "I mean, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you're supposed to be a queen aren't you? Shouldn't you have like a palace and a big, grand bedroom or something."

Clarion sighed. She couldn't lose patience with this one just yet. She was only a new arrival, and she didn't know any better.

"First of all," Clarion began. "Just call me Clarion, the 'miss' isn't required. Second, I'm not the Queen. At least not yet. And third, I don't feel I should live in any more luxury than those I lead. I deserve no better than they do."

Vidia seemed to be thoughtfully taking this all in, and Clarion felt a bit relieved. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

"Alright then, Clarion." Vidia said after a while. "You have my complete, undivided attention. Just what exactly is going on in this world? Why does nobody seem busy with changing the seasons or whatever it is we do?"

"I'm afraid that the current state of our land makes it quite impossible for us to manage that." Clarion answered sadly.

"Well, what do the people over in 'Whatever Land' have to say about that? Wouldn't they notice a particularily long winter or something?" Vidia inquired.

Clarion gave a small scoff.

"Oh, I don't think the Mainlanders are particularily worried about the seasons at this time." She said. "They seem to be caught up in a conflict of their own. A 'Crusade' I believe is what they're calling it. But that's not important. What _is _important is the conflict that's happening here. A conflict that has raged even longer than theirs, and has claimed many more lives."

Now Vidia seemed deeply intrigued. She un-crossed her legs and leaned forward a bit, an eager look on her face.

"A conflict? Here?" She said in slight wonder. "Well, that wasn't in the brochure."

Even though this was hardly a time for jokes, Clarion couldn't help but let a small giggle pass, and she couldn't understand why. There was something about this fairy that made her nervous. She felt as though Vidia were some kind of massive explosion just waiting for the slightest thing to set her off, and not giggling at her slightly humorous remark would do just that. Still, Clarion managed to quickly straighten up. She cleared her throat and began.

"Now, I will tell you everything I feel you should know about the current situation here. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them as best I can. Now what i'm about to tell you may come as a bit of a shock. It might even be a bit hard to believe at first. But I assure you, every word is true. And once you understand and accept the situation, I will have to ask for you to aid us in any way you can. Do you understand me?"

Vidia didn't answer right away. But Clarion could tell by look on her face that she was ready to start taking this more seriously. After a while, Vidia simply nodded, and Clarion continued.

"Alright then, I won't waste time explaining the creation of Neverland and how the fairies came into being, because that isn't important. I suppose the best place to begin would be when our first Queen was chosen. Life was-"

"Hang on a sec." Vidia interrupted. "She was chosen? By who? How does that whole thing work out?"

"She was chosen by Mother Dove. The most powerful being in all of Neverland. You'll come to know her quite well in time. And, um... may I suggest holding your questions 'til after I'm finished?" Clarion said a bit irritably.

"Oh, uh... sure." Vidia replied.

"Thank you." Clarion said with a small smile. "Now then, the first Queen of Pixie Hollow was an Animal Talent named Gisselle. She was a kind ruler. She treated us all properly for the most part. But she had a problem of placing animal needs ahead of our own. It didn't take long for us to fall into poverty. While we were all dying of disease and famine, she was more worried about the well being of some family of squirrles halfway across the island.

"It was hell. Fairies were falling left and right, and Gisselle didn't do a thing about it. All the while we managed to do our duty in changing the seasons, but it was costing us dearly. We had only existed for a century, and we were already facing extinction. We wondered how Mother Dove could've made such a poor desicion. We thought she knew everything, and indeed maybe there was something she knew that we didn't. Maybe in the long run things would work out. But most of us just couldn't accept that. Most of us just believed that Mother Dove was not who we thought she was and simply wanted us gone. the most adamant believer in this was a young Storm Talent named Veronica. While most of us were simply complaining, she was out giving speeches and gathering followers. She swore that she could give us a better life, that she could have us thriving again within a few years if she had the chance. She was so charismatic, and most of us believed her. After all, things were so terrible for us that we were willing to listen to anyone who we though had better ideas.

"Then, what started as a series of peaceful protests becme a full-scale revolution. It began with attacks against the guards or anyone who supported Gisselle. It soon escalated into full-blown assassination attempts, most of which were executed by her personally. Even though she never succeeded at first, her efforts inspired more and more fairies to join her. We became so desperate to see an end to that do-nothing Queen that we disregarded some of the more... shall we say 'disturbing' aspects of her ideals. I, of course, include myself in that category.

"Then, when she finally felt she had enough followers behind her, Veronica launched a massive assult on the Home Tree. Her forces were so overwhelming that all of Gisselles guards either surrendered or were killed within minutes. Veronica herself performed the execution of Gisselle. She beheaded her on the highest branch of the Home Tree for all to see. To this day, I don't believe that Gisselle understood why she was overthrown. There was a lot she didn't understand."

Clarion paused there for a moment to gage Vidias reaction. She definately appeared to be intrigued, but there was also an element of sarcasm to her expression. It was impossible to tell whether it was genuine or not. Vidia just had the kind of face that was hard to read. Clarion chose to take her expression as interest and continued.

"For that brief period, Pixie Hollow was a peace, and everyone was content. Veronica had us back on track in very little time. Everything seemed fine. For the first time in our lives, we thrived. But... shortly after we had begun to adapt to our better lives, Veronica began to show her true colors. You see, most of us were so desperate to see an end to Gisselle that we didn't realize that Veronica was blaming all Animal Talents for our suffering. She- she wanted them gone. All of them. And when she became Queen, her first major order was that all Animal Talents be killed. She had them rounded up had them slaughtered by masses.

"We never wanted any of that. We tried to reason with Veronica, but she wouldn't see us. Her guards became more over-bearing. Soon it wasn't just Animal Talents that were being killed. It was anyone who was believed to have offended or disrespected the Queen that were dealt with. It only got worse from there. When she discovered that some Animal Talents had escaped her by fleeing for the Mainland, she took extreme steps to make sure others couldn't follow. She reduced the amount of Pixie Dust that we were allowed to have and sealed the gateway to the Mainland with her storm clouds.

"All the while, we were falling into poverty again, only this time it was worse. It was becoming obvious that none of us wanted to go on like this. We all wanted Veronica gone, but at the same time we were all too afraid to act. Anyone who showed even the slightest sign of insubordination publically was dealt with quickly.

"Now I... I hated Veronica as much as anyone else, but I never wated anything to do with bringing her down. While small groups launching small-scale gurrilla warfare tactics against her, I was just going on with my daily routine of trying to get by. Deep down I wished them well, but I would never take part their activities, especially considering that they weren't accomplishing much. Most of their missions were suicide.

"Then, one day I went to Mother Dove in person. I approached at the highest branch of her tree, where her nest is. I kneeled down and I begged her for help, begged her to save us. I must've been there for hours before she finally spoke to me. She looked down at me with those glossy eyes of hers and... she said... 'You are the one.' I had no idea what she was talking about. Part of me still doubted that she was indeed as powerful as we all believed. I asked her what she meant and... well, I can't remember exactly what she said. It was like being in a trance when I was talking to her, but what it all came down to was that she had chosen me to lead a revolt against Veronica and become the new Queen.

"Well, you can imagine I was quite terrified. After all, I had never shown any interest in becoming a leader. I didn't want to involve myself in the violence that was unfolding all around me. But I could not argue. Mother Doves will must be done. It took more courage than you can even begin to imagine, but I convinced a good number of fairies and sparrow-men that I was to lead them. Though a few doubted me at first, they were evenutally brought around, though I can't explain how. I suppose they visited Mother Dove as well and she convinced them. We defected from Pixie Hollow and declared ourselves a Rebel army

"And now, here we are; engaged in conflict that has lasted centuries. Every battle we fight, every one of her soldiers we kill seems to get us nowhere. Our only chance of ending this bloodshed is to kill Veronica, but that task has proven to be more than we can manage. She never goes out into public. She remains heavily guarded within the Home Tree. We've made several attempts break through and assassinate her, but all have ended in failure.

The closest we came to getting to her was actually just this night. We had an sparrow-man working as a double agent, pretending to be one of them while secretly feeding us information that we could use to get to her. Tonight we were supposed to end this, but we were betrayed. Our double agent was corrupted by Veronicas influence, and he turned on us, led a group of our Rebels to their deaths, though a few managed to escape and make it back here. Still, that whole debacle has put to rest any chance of us being able to use a double agent again. Now any fairies that volunteer to be guards will undergo inspections to make sure they are not one in league with us. They will have changed their patrolling patterns and increased security. It would be suicide to attempt anything like that again."

Clarion went silent again, and this time it was because she couldn't think of anything more to say. She had spared Vidia the details of some of Veronicas more sadistic acts (such as public disembowelments of captured Rebels, or withholding food supplies from certain villages that were not meeting the quota of work that needed to be done) but felt that she knew enough to go on with. But when she saw the look on Vidias face, she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. She didn't expect Vidia to take this particularily well, but she looked downright terrified. It would've been hilarious if the situation hadn't been so serious.

"Do you... have anything you wish to say?" Clarion asked.

"Uh, one or two things." Vidia said sarcastically. "So, let me do a recap here for a second. Pixie Hollow was going through hard times because its Queen was an arrogant moron. Then some fairy called Veronica pops up and decides she can save you all and make Pixie Hollow better place. She starts a revolt and you all choose to follow her because it's better than doing nothing and because she's good with words. You all succeed in killing Gisselle and Veronica becomes your new Queen. You're all really happy and content for a while until you find out that Veronica's a genocidal maniac who starts wiping out Animal Talents and anyone who opposes her. So you go to some magic bird who tells you that you're destined be the savior of Pixie Hollow or something, and that you have to fight a war against Veronica. Is that about right so far?"

"Yes, that's pretty accurate, though technically this isn't a war. No official decleration was made, so it's more of a conflict." Clarion answered.

Vidia rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. So anyway, I get pulled in by the Rebels instead of being taken in at the Home Tree. Now, the only real question that I have is... WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO ABOUT THIS?"

Clarion jumped a bit at Vidias sudden anger. But she had to admit, her question was valid. What exactly was she supposed to do here? When the Rebels managed to grab a new arrival before Veronica could, they trained him or her in fighting techniques and then they were part of the Rebel army. But Clarion knew that wouldn't be good enough. One extra fighter in her army wasn't going to make any diiference. The battles would continue as usual, casualties would continue to rise, and Veronica would be no closer to death. Something special had to be done with this fairy. She was a new arrival, and Clarion had to think of a way to use that to her advantage. A few ideas came to her head, one in particular seemed rather promising, but it would take some serious consideration and planning before she could announce it. For now, she was going to have to give Vidia a disappointing answer.

"I'm afraid I don't know what we can do with you just yet." She told her. "I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure exactly how-"

"Hold on one second!" Vidia snapped. "I've only been alive for what, an hour or so, and I'm already being forced into things i don't want to be a part of? Well no offense, Clarion, but I couldn't really care less about you and your stupid cause! I my opinion, you and your followers are all partially responsible for bringing this Veronica woman to power! You all failed to see her for who she truly was, and that's your fault and your fault alone! You mande your bed, now you sleep in it! But if you really feel like sending thousands of fairies and sparrow-men to their deaths because you think it's for a good cause, then go ahead and do it! But leave me out of it! I want nothing to do with it!"

Vidia rose to her feet and headed for the door, but before she could get too far, she felt a hand grab her shoulder pull her around violently. She stood face to face with an enraged looking Clarion. Vidia was a bit alarmed by Clarions sudden change of attitude, but didn't let herself show any fear. She just glared back as hard as she could.

"Get your hands off me!" Vidia said dangerously.

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave this place Vidia." Clarion said through gritted teeth. "We can't risk you giving away our location to Veronica."

Vidias cold, hard glare intensified. But soon her face broke into a somewhat twisted smile.

"You guys just think you're so impressive, don't you?" She sneered. "Well you don't scare me one bit! I'm a Fast-Flyer! I can escape this place easily!"

"You wouldn't get far!" Clarion hissed. "We have a Fast-Flyer far more experienced thatn you! He'd track you down in an instant!"

"Oh, you mean that Creed guy?" Vidia said with a laugh. "I don't think that guy has a clue about what's going on with this world! He couldn't tell me a thing!"

"Creed has been with me since the beginning!" Clarion said confidently. "He is my most trusted follower! I don't doubt his abilities for a second!"

Vidia stammered a bit, trying to find a good response. But she slowly began to realize that she wasn't going to win this arguement. These fairies were serious with whatever it was they were doing, and Vidia didn't feel it was neccessary to throw her life away right after she had just been given it. Clarion seemed to sense the defeat in her eyes and loosened her grasp on her a bit. She took a deep breath and tried to let her anger fade.

"Listen to me." She said calmly. "You're much better off here than you would be in Pixie Hollow. If you had been picked up by them, you would be suffering terribly along with the other poor souls that chose to do remain there and do nothing. You are safe here, I promise."

Vidia gave a defeated sigh.

"Sure I am." She muttered sarcastically.

Clarion then fully relinquished her hold on Vidia and was relieved to see that she didn't try to run.

"Alright then." She said in a tone of finality. "That's all I have to say to you for now. It's true that I cannot force you to fight for us, but I really wish you would consider it. If I may make a suggestion, I think it would do you good to mingle with the other Rebels during your time here. Listen to what they have to say. Get their opinions on this conflict. i think you'll find yourself deeply impressed by the acts of courage they have undertaken, and maybe then you will feel more sympathetic to our cause."

"Whatever." Vidia muttered.

Clarion stared at her intently for a moment, still trying to decide just what to make of this fairy. Then she slowly turned away from her and went back to her window where she resumed staring out at the Rebel camp.

"I will send for you when I need you again. You may leave." She said.

Vidia slowly turned away and exited the room, chancing one more glance at Clarion before she closed the door. Outside, Creed was waiting for her. He tried to give her a smile, but the annoyed look on her face mad eit fade quickly.

"I'll take you to your quarters." He said. "If you'll follow me..."

He took off down the hall, and Vidia reluctantly followed him. He led her through several twists and turns and ups and downs until he stopped outside a door not much different from all the others.

"Right here." He said as he entered the room.

The room looked almost exactly like Clarions. The only thing it didn't have was the window with the view of the camp. Vidia sighed angrily, making sure it was loud enough for Creed to hear, and plopped down onto the dirty leaf bed. Creed sensed her frustration and thought that it would be better for him to say something comforting rather than just leave her like this.

"So I guess i'll just leave you to get accompanied with the place at your leisure." He said kindly. "But if there's anything you need, I can help you out. I'm just a few doors down from you, and if I'm not in my room, I'm probably down in the mess hall eating or something. Don't hesitate to ask for anything, I'm here to help."

"I'll file that under advisement." Vidia murmmured.

Creed gave her a small nod and turned away.

"Goodnight." He said over his shoulder as he exited the room.

The door closed behind him with a small click. He headed for his own room with a small sigh. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight. This fairy was going to be occupying his thoughts for a long time.

Meanwhile, Vidia made herself comfortable in her own bed. Her mind raced with thoughts of everything she had just heard from Clarion. Part of her didn't want to believe it was true. But there was no denying the looks on the faces of the fairies and sparrow-men around here. Something big was definately going on, and lucky her and just ended up in the middle of it.

"I picked a hell of a day to exist." Vidia moaned before slowly drifting off to sleep.

**Seriously, Thank you all for your support!**


	6. Morning Plans

Vidia had slept very little the past night. She had her bed to thank for that. It was cold, lumpy, and generally uncomfortable. A leaf just didn't quite cut it for her as a proper cover. She slowly sat up at what she assumed was morning (it was hard to tell without any windows in her room) and stretched her arms and legs. As she did this, she suddenly winced at a sharp pain in her lower back. She had obviously slept on it wrong, and it fet like her muscles were on fire. She gently massaged the area with her fingers and moaned at how miserable things were for her so early in her life.

Deep down, she was telling herself that this whole thing had to be a prank. Just a cruel, sick joke that was always played on new arrivals. She was hoping that any minute now they were going to come bursting into her room, laughing uproariously and telling her that she just got put through a ringer or whatever. If that was the case, she was going to laugh along with them to lull them into a false sense of security, and then when they least expect it... BOOM hit them with a tornado and not let them out of it until they begged her to stop. Sadly, the fact that they hadn't come bursting in yet meant that either they were seriously milking this joke for all it was worth, or that they were telling the truth last night.

As the ache in her back began to fade, Vidia swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. Across form her was a sliding door that seemed to lead to a closet. Vidia felt she might as well take a look since she didn't exactly feel like going around wearing that white dress the whole day. But when she opened it up and saw what was inside, she quickly changed her mind. There were nothing but those green leaf uniforms in there. They had look terribly uncomfortable on all the other faires, and she had just spent all night sleeping under a dry, scratchy leaf, so she decided she would stick it out with the white dress a little while longer.

A knock came at the door which made her tense up a bit. She wondered if there would be a large group of laughing faiires on the other side. She went to the door, trying her best not to look too foolish, and opened it. To her surpirse, it was just Creed, and he didn't look particularily happy. He looked downright beaten, as if he ahd been up all night running all over the place.

"Uh, hey." He greeted wearily. "How are you feeling?"

Vidia gave him an annoyed look.

"I think I'd like to complain to the manager about my sleeping conditions." She sneered. "It felt like I was sleeping on a rock."

"Well, I'm afraid not much can be done about that." Creed told her. "Every room has the same kind of bed. I can assure you that mine's no more comfortable. We just have to make the best of what we have."

Vidia sighed and leaned against the frame of her door. She looked seriously deflated.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" She asked. "I died on my way here and now I'm in hell. That's whats going on here, isn't it? I didn't even get a chance at life and now I've been damned for all eternity."

"No, Vidia, you are not dead." Creed told her calmly. "Though I can't imagine hell is a much better place than here. Still, you _are _alive. That much I garuntee."

"Well, I'm starting to wish I were dead." Vidia sighed. "So everything Clarion told me last night was true, huh?"

"Every word." Creed said solemnly. " And I'm afraid there's much more that you should know about. But I think that instead of telling you about it, you'd be better off seeing it for yourself. Maybe that'll convince you to stay with us."

Vidia let out a small scoff and folded her arms.

"You really think that'll be enough to change my mind?" She asked gingerly.

"Oh, I know it will." Creed replied confidently. "Clarion left out some of the more disturbing things that have been going on around here. Maybe she thought you couldn't handle it, or maybe she wanted you to see it for yourself. I figure it was the latter, so I'll tell you what, after we get some food in us I'll take you around Pixie Hollow and show you what's what. We'll have to be careful, though. Veronicas guards know my face, and if they see me they'll attack on sight. You, on the other hand... I'm not sure how they'll respond to you. They've never seen you before, and they don't have you registered, so they might just think we got to you before they did. They would then either try to kill you or take you in and try to turn you to their side. Neither would be particularily good, so we should just avoid being sighted all together."

Vidia took a look around at her gloomy surroundings. As dangerous as it sounded going out into this world, it still seemed a hell of a lot better than being cooped up in here all day.

"You know, I might just take you up on that." She said with a small grin. "As long as you know what you're doing..."

"Oh, don't worry. I know Pixie Hollow like the back of my hand." Creed assured her. "And even if we do run into trouble, I'm a skilled fighter. I can protect you if need be. Still, like I said earlier, it'd be better if they didn't see your face. We may find a good use for you later down the road, and we don't want them knowing right off the bat whose side you're on."

Vidia stared at him quizzically. She seemed a bit bothered by something.

"What exactly are you planning on useing me for?" She asked.

"Clarion told me a few ideas just moments ago." Creed said. "One of which she seemed pretty intent on pulling off. But she's still not entirely sure. Bisides she didn't want me going into details with you just yet. She imagines you're probably freaked out enough as it is."

Vidia scoffed, much louder than the last one.

"She has no idea." She muttered. "Well, she better start telling me these things soon, because I don't exactly feel right about being left in the dark on things that could involve me risking my life for a cause I really don't fully understand or support."

Creed looked at her with a stern expression.

"You will soon enough." He said. "Trust me, Pixie Hollow is not a pretty picture... it never really has been."

Creed seemed a bit saddened by the end of that statement, and even Vidia couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for him. Something about his rugged face really projected a lot of saddness. She found herself quite mesmerized by it for a brief moment, but quickly snapped out of it. There were plent of other sparrow-men around here. She could surely do better than him.

"Well, I'll just leave it up to you to get me acquainted with the place, then." She said.

Creed smiled a bit and looked her over once from head to toe.

"You want to change first?" He asked politely. "You don't have to wear that white dress your whole life, you know."

Vidia though back to that uncomfortable looking green leaf uniform hanging in the closet and gave an involuntary shutter.

"I think stay in these for now." She said assuringly. "It's comfortable enough."

Creed shrugged and cracked his neck.

"Suit yourself." He said. "Normally we Fast-Flyers wear purple, but in the Rebel army we have to wear green camo to conceal ourselves. It's not the most comfortable stuff in the world, but it works,and it's better than that heavy armor Veronicas guards wear. That stuff'll protect them, no question, but it's almost impossible to move properly in it."

"Well, this is all so fascinating." Vidia said sarcastically. "But shouldn't we get a move on? I'm getting kinda restless."

Creed smiled and nodded. He stretched his arms high above his head.

"Alright then, follow me down to the mess hall." He said, groaning as he stretched. "We'll grab a quick bite before we head out."

"Sounds good." Vidia said.

With that, Creed took off down the hall and Vidia followed closely behind him. Creed looked back at her and saw that she was walking a little awkwardly. He looked down at her feet and saw that they were still bare.

"You sure you at least don't want to put some shoes on?" He asked a bit worriedly.

"Nah, I'll get used to it." Vidia replied. "Besides, we'll be flying once we get out there, right?"

"Right, just checking." Creed said as they continued onward.

When they arrived at the mess hall, Vidia was surprised to see just how crowded the place was. The night before she had seen a fairly descent sized crow gathered around her, but it paled in comparison to what she was looking at now. It truly was an army. Creed could see awe in Vidias deep, dark eyes, and he couldn't help but smile at it.

"Trust me, this is mild by comparison to how it gets later in the day." He said. "We're lucky we got here so early."

"Whatever you say." Vidia muttered.

She was clearly mesmerized by all this. Deep dpwn she was beginning to feel that either they were really taking this prank as far as it could possible go, or that it was for real. It was definately the latter that was making more sense.

The mess hall was basically made up of a set of really long wooden tables. Faries and sparrow-men were squeezed in all around them, grabbing at whatever food was closest to them. There wasn't exactly much variety for that matter. It was mostly rolls and muffins and various fruits set on large plates spread out along the centers of the tables.

"It's not much, but it gets us by." Creed said as he reached in between a couple of fairies for a sweet roll. "We didn't get to many Cooking Talents on our side, but the few we have really work their hearts out for us. We don't have to sit down or anything since we'll be out of here in a hurry."

Vidia looked up and down the table for something she wanted to eat. None of it look particularily appetizing until she noticed a bowl with large, round purple fruit in them. Their name came to her head after a few seconds, as did most other things she noticed in this world. She grabbed one of the plums from the bowl and bit into it. She loved the sweet, sour and tart mixture of it. She had already decided right then and there that plums were her favorite food, so she wolfed hers down in an instant.

Creed seemed to be taking his time with his sweet roll, much to Vidias annoyance. She thought he wanted to hurry up and get out of here as much as she did. Then at that moment, she noticed a fairy and sparrow-man who appeared to be approaching them. The fairy was a red-head with a young yet severe looking face. The sparrow-man was dark-skinned and had short. curley hair. When they were right behind Creed, the sparrow-man cracked a small smile and slapped his hand on Creeds shoulder.

"I thought you were trying to watch your calories, Creedy boy." He said jovially.

Creed coughed a bit after being slapped. He had obviuosly been swallowing at the smae time. He turned to the two of them and chuckled a bit with his mouth still full.

"You're up early, Mahlarko." He mummbled, bits of food dropping from his lips. "I thought you needed your beauty sleep."

Vidia watched awkwardly as the two sparrow-men laughed heartily and the fairy just mildly chuckled. Then the sparrow-man turned his attention to Vidia, and he suddenly looked a bit surpprised.

"Hey, you're that new arrival, aren't you?" He asked.

Vidis just nodded shyly. She looked to the red-headed fairy, who gave her a comforting smile which made Vidia feel a little better. Meanwhile, Creed had just finished swallowing his roll.

"Marco, Violet, this is Vidia." He said while pointing at her. "Vidia, this is Marco and Violet. Two of my closest friends and among the most loyal soldiers in this army. In fact, they were both involved in the failed raid last night."

Vidias smile became a little more pronounced as she extended her hand.

"Hi." She said simply.

Marco took her hand in a firm grip.

"Nice to meet you in person, Vidia." He said with a warm grin.

"Likewise." Vidia replied.

She then turned to Violet and the two grasped each others hands. Violets grip was significantly weaker than Marcos. From the lookof her face, Vidia assumed she was just tired.

"I wasn't around when you arrived last night. What talent are you?" Violet asked as she released Vidias hand.

"Oh, um... I'm a Fast-Flyer." Vidia answered.

Violets eyes widened a bit in amusement.

"Really?" She mused. "Those are hard to come by these days. In fact, the only other one we have besides you is Creed here."

"Yeah, she knows. I told her." Creed said casually.

"Whatever." Violet muttered. "Anyway, welcome to the family, Vidia. What do you think so far?"

Vidia took another look around at the maddness ensueing. There was no mistaking the look of awe on her face,and Violet couldn't help but a let out a small, quiet chuckle.

"I really don't know what to think." Vidia said after a while. "I mean, I was kinda hoping it was all a prank or something, but the more I see, the more I'm starting to think it's real."

Marco laughed a bit.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He said. "I felt the same way when I arrived here. It's pretty overwhelming."

"Oh, she hasn't seen anything yet." Creed said darkly. "In fact, I was just about to take her around Pixie Hollow. You know, show her the lay of the land and try to explain to her just how serious the situation is."

Violet suddenly looked very worried.

"You sure that's safe, Creed?" She asked. "They're probably going to be extra pissed about what happened last night. They'll be in a real shoot first, ask questions later mood."

Creed looked over to Vidia and saw that now she looked a bit more uneasy. It was true that he didn't want to have to put her life at risk right after she had just been given it, but she had to know and understand how dire things were for them. At best, it might just convince her to take up arms and fight along side them.

"It has to be done, Violet." He said stoically. "It's for her own good, and it's what Clarion wants."

"Well, then maybe we should go with you." Marco offered. "There's safety in numbers, and maybe we can help explain things to her."

"Yeah, I'd be fine with that." Violet chimed in. "I'm still working off the stress of last night, but I think I think it would do me some good to get out of here."

Creed looked a little apprehensive at first. He wasn't sure if it would be wise to bring others with them. True, there was safety in numbers, but more people would make it harder to sneak around. Then again, he knew he didn't have to worry about Violet Marco getting in the way. They were both skilled fighters who knew what they were doing. He looked over at Vidia again to see if she still looked uneasy. But to his slight surprise, she seemed a little calmer.

"I think I'd be very interested to hear what they have to add to this whole wild story." Vidia said.

The tone she used to say that last sentence was almost impossible to discern. He couldn't tell if it was supposed to be serious or sarcastic. But seeing how she looked calmer, he figured she was serious about wanting them to tag along.

"Alright." He said after a moment of thought. "Let's get our Pixie Dust and we'll be off."

...

After getting their dust at the make-shift Pixie Dust well, the foursome headed for the hole near the base they were under which would lead them outside. When they got up to it, Creed stopped for a moment and turned to Vidia with a deeply serious look on his face. She appeared a bit taken aback by it, but that was what Creed wanted. It was time to lay down the law right here and now. Violet and Marco hovered on both sides of him, giving Vidia the same stern looks.

"Now listen," Creed began. "You're about to witness just what a nightmare this land has become. You're going to see a lot of horrifying and disturbing things, things that are going to leave an impression on you that will stay with you for a long time. What you need to understand that this kind of stuff is happening every day, and we're fighting desperately to put a stop to it. We need all the help we can get, and after today you might be more willing to be the one to offer it. Now, it's going to be dangerous out there, and you have no combat training whatsoever, so you do exactly what we say and when we say it. I mean it, if any three of us tells you to do something, you do it without question. Do you understand?"

Vidias worried look suddenly became an ice cold glare, and it sent hivers down the spines of all three of them, and none of them could hide it.

"You know something, Creed?" She said cooly. "So far you've given me nothing but a lot of talk. I think it's about time you started putting your money where your mouth is. If this place is really as bad as you say it is, then just show me already. Stop wasting my time with meaningless words and get to the point already!"

Creed turned to look at the others, and they looked just as worried as he did. He missed it, but Vidia gave a nasty grin when she saw their expressions.

"Right then." He said with a nod to each of them. "Let's do this."

And with that, Vidia followed the group out of the tree and into the unknown...


	7. The Horrors of Pixie Hollow

The sky above Pixie Hollow was a never-ending torrent of dark grey swirling clouds. Every so often, the low rumble of thunder would fill the air, or a quick bright flash from lightning would briefly light the world around the group. The storm ahd definately picked up a bit since last night, when it had been mercifully calm for the mission. Vidia had to admit, her very first glance of the outside world could not have been more awe inspiring. Her attention was mainly focused on the sky above her, while Creed, Marco, and Violet were busy surveying the land around them, looking for threats.

"So, I take it that's Veronicas storm?" Vidia said, pointing at the cataclysm above.

Creed was snapped away from surveying the area when Vidia said this. He had gotten so used the those storm clouds darkening the world around him that he had forgotten that this was Vidias first time in the outside world. It was perfectly natural that her attention would first be drawn to the storm.

"Yes, that's the storm." He said grimly. "On the other side of it are thousands of Animal Talents who are unable to come back here. Though they're ssafe from Veronica over there, they aren't safe from ageing."

Vidia raised her eybrow in confusion.

"What do you mean ageing?" She asked.

Before Creed could answer, Marco moved up between them and answered, a bit to Creeds annoyance.

"In Neverland nobody ages. We remain at our current age forever as long as we're here. But that kind of magic only exists in Neverland. It doesn't carry over to the Mainland."

"That so?" Vidia said, once again in a tone that was hard to tell if she was serious or sarcastic.

"Yes." Violet chimed in. "Without Neverlands magic, fairies can live for a couple hundred years, which is about for as long as this conflicts been going on. I imagine some of them may still be alive, but they won't be able to hold on much longer. Works well enough for Veronica, though. She doesn't have to be the one to kill them. As long as they're dead, she's happy. Any new arrivals that come in that happen to be Animal Talents are immediately killed when they're brought in by Veronica's fairies. That's why we try so hard to get to them before they can. Everytime we don't get to one first, it really kills us inside, especially me."

Vidia seemed genuinely curious about what Violet was saying, even though Violet herself felt she was starting to ramble. After all, they were supposed to be showing Vidia this world, not going on about past incidents. There would be time for that later. But still, Vidia wanted to know more.

"Why does it hurt you the most?" She asked Violet.

Violet really didn't feel like talking about this right now. But at the same time she had a feeling that Vidia would bug her aobut it later, and truthfully, Violet never liked to talk about her past. She figured that it would be best to get it overwith now rather than have to dread suffering through it later.

"Well, I was once one of Veronica's highest ranking guards." She said, noticing that the intrigue in Vidias face was now even more pronounced. "I really supported her when she was starting out. I thought her ideas were fantastic, and I really wanted to see that other Queen fall. So once Veronica became our rular, I was one of the first to enlist as one of her soldiers. In worked my way through the ranks until I became one of her Elite guards. And that... that was when I realized just what she was doing to Animal Talents.

"You see, when I was a soldier I was just enforcing Veronica's laws among the fairy population, which I didn't think were particularily cruel at first. I admit I felt a bit uneasy about some of it, but at the same time i noticed that Pixie Hollow was starting to thrive again, and that, I felt was the important thing. When I became an Elite guard, the first thing I was shown was what was being done with Animal Talents. They told me that they were the ones responsible for Pixie Hollows suffering in the past, and that they had too stopped before they could ruin our land further. They- they were being brought into a large open area of the Home Tree in large groups and were being shot down by guards with their arrows!

"I-I couldn't believe I was a part of a regime that was slaughtering innocents for something they hadn't done! I never wanted any of that! But at the same time, I knew I couldn't just back out. I had sworn to myself that I would stick with Veronica no matter what, and that was what I had to do. Still, I could never condone what they were doing, there was no justice in that at all! I decide I would continue guarding my Queen, but I would refuse to take part in any of the killing of these innocents. I suppose that still didn't justify me staying with her, though.

"Shortly after that hoffor was revealed to me, I heard of the Rebellion. Though I didn't want to join them at first, deep down I wished them well. I hoped that Veronica would at least undertand why they were rebeling in the first place and maybe try to reason with them peacefully. Sadly, that was not the case. One night a couple of young fairies and sparrow-men were brought before me. i was told that they had been suspected in aiding the Rebel cause, and that they were to be slaughtered at once, without a trial. And at that moment, I decided that I could not carry out Veronica's will anymore. I refuse to execute them, and I was subsequently arrested and imprisoned for it.

"Everyday for five years was a nightmare in that prison. I was beaten, whipped, branded with hot irons, raped, and... I can't even say what else, it's too much. I felt like I was about to lose my sanity. I wanted to die, just wanted it to end. Then, one night I was saved by a group of Rebels who took over the prison and freed it's inmates. I was taken in by them and I've been fighting with them ever since. Sometimes I feel I should've left Veronica long ago. The fact that she was systematically killing Animal Talents should've been enough to convince me that I was on the wrong side. But I was just too stubborn to accept it.

"That's why I feel so terrible everytime a new arrival slips past us. Animal Tallent or not, I can't help but imagine that they must be going through the same thing I did..."

Even Creed and Marco, who had heard this story plenty of times before were deathly silent as Violet told it again. And by the look on Vidias face, she was pretty moved by it as well.

"You okay, Vidia?" Creed asked her worriedly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Vidia said a bit shakily. "Though I have to admit: the more I hear of this place, The more I'm starting to believe you guys."

All three of them nodded stoically. The two sparrow-men felt deeply grateful to Violet that she had taken the time to tell this story. They knew it wasn't easy for her, but they felt that it really played a bit part in bringing Vidia around. Vidia turned her gaze to the large, tall tree far off in the distance. She pointed at it with a slightly shaky finger.

"And that's-" She began.

"Yes, that's the Home Tree." Creed said.

The group was hovering at the top of some tall grass so that they were well conceald from the heavily guarded Tree. It's glow was as dim as ever, and the branches were leafless and threatening. They looked like long, sharp spears protruding outward towards anyone who dared try to penatrate it. The wall surrounding it stood tall and strong, and Marco and Violet could see that it didn't take long for Veronica to up the security of the whole place. Last night there had been only a few guards on each side of the wall. Now there appeared to be no less that thirty or fourty patrolling the top of it. And there were probably many more on the ground on the other side of it.

Violet wanted so badly to just fly through it and make a mad run for Veronica's chambers, but she knew she wouldn't get far. She sighed sadly and turned to Vidia.

"You ready to see more?" She asked.

For the first time since they had met, Vidia suddenly looked really nervous.

"I'm not so sure I want to see more after that story you told." She said, her voice shaking even more noticeably.

"I'm afraid you have to see more, Vid." Creed said. "You have to understand. You have to-"

"I understand well enough!" Vidia shrieked. "These people are psychos! I understand that now! I-

"No! You don't understand!" Marco exclaimed. "You haven't seen anything yet! You haven't-"

"Will you two keep it down!" Viole hissed in a loud whisper. "We're supposed to be stealthy about this!"

"Listen," Vidia began. "I've seen what a large force you guys have back there in that tree you use! Why don't you just amass your whole army and take the Home Tree by force? This whole thing could probably be over in a matter of hours!"

"That idea would be the death of us all!" Marco said. "First off, while it's true we have a sizable force, it still pales in comparison to the size of their army! Second, they're better equipped, better trained, better disciplined! In a head to head confrontaion, we'd lose everytime! We have to rely on guerilla warfare to succeed against them!"

"Okay, okay, time out!" Creed snapped. "Let's just calm down for a second." His voice lowered. "Vidia, do you know what guerilla warfare is?"

"Not exactly." Vidia said, sounding a bit calmer. "I've heard it mentioned a few times, but no one's really explained it to me."

"Alright, then. I'll help you out." Creed said. "Guerilla warfare involves sending out small groups of soldiers instead of large armies to hit the enemy where they least expect it instead of head on. It involves sabotage, taking out their supply wagons, hiding in the grass and quickly dispatching their small patrols, and various other stealth based attacks. It's much more effective then just getting our whole army together and facing off against their whole army."

"The problem is..." Violet steppped in. "It's not enough. As long as Veronica lives, her forces will continue to thrive. Each new arrival they bring in most likely ends up in her army, unless it's an Animal Talent, but let's not go into that again. The best we can do is make things hard for them. We can't simply annilate them."

Vidia took some time to consider what they had just told her. She didn't look as nervous as she did before, but she definately still seemed a tad uneasy.

"So," She began. "If I do decide to join your little Rebellion, I'll be sabotaging wagons and destroying their supplies and stuff like that?"

"Maybe." Creed said thoughtfully. "It depends on what Clarion wants to do with you. She might have something else in mind."

Vidia sighed. She hovered away from the group a bit and gazed over the vast expanse of Pixie Hollow. It was quiet and desolate seeming place. Most of the surrounding trees in the area seemed dead or dying. The dull roar of thunder sounded off in the distance, echoing thorugh the area. It was a depressing sight, yet Vidia could barely make out voices in the distance. Some of it seemed to be coming from massive wall surrounding the Home Tree, but there also seemed to be some activity coming from some areas next to some of the other trees in the area. Vidia felt a vague curiosity to see more, but part of her felt she probably would regret it. If the fairies under Veronica's control were truly as sadistic as the others had made them out to be, then maybe she didn't want to see just what they were doing to the innocents of this land. She felt one of the others approach her from behind. She turned to see that it was Creed.

"Are you ready to see more?" He asked her calmly.

"I-I don't know." Vidia said.

Creed sighed a bit. He took a moment to think.

"Tell you what." He said after a while. "We'll show you just one of the villages. Just one should be enough. Then we'll go back to our camp and give you some time to think about things. Does that sound okay?"

Vidia thought for a moment. She really looked like she didn't want to be there, and truthfully she felt like taking off for home right at that moment. But she didn't quite remember where it was, and she didn't want to risk getting lost. Finally, she decide it was better to stick with the group.

"I swear if we get captured..." She moaned.

"Just stay with us and do what we say and everything will be fine." Creed told her confidently. Now come on."

He held out his hand towards her. Vidia hesitated a bit, then slowly took it. His hand was sweaty and callused, which felt strange agaisnt her soft, smooth one. He gently pulled her along and the others followed as they headed deeper into Pixie Hollow.

...

"Tinkers Nook." Creed announced when they finally arrived at a small, quiant little village. "Or at least what's left of it."

Vidia gazed around her with a deeply nervous expression on her face. She and the other were perched on top of a tree branch that overlooked the village. It was a dismal sight, and Vidia could literally feel the depression this place projected washing over her. Tinkers Nook was made up of several small tea kettle houses that lined the dirt roads. Spread out amongst the homes were large hollowed out tree trunks that served as the working place for the Tinkers. Vidia looked all over the small settlement, but saw very few signs of life. Once in a while a couple of down-trodden looking fairies would cross from one large tree trunk to another, or go into one of the tea kettle houses.

"Not a very heavily populated area, is it?" Vidia murmured.

"Oh, there's a few thousand Tinkers that make their homes here." Creed informed her. "But most of their days are spent inside those work areas. You see, the Tinkers are in charge of creating weapons and armor for Veronicas soldiers. Sice there are constantly new arrivals coming in that usually become soldiers, they have to keep up their quota. Their work conditions are abysmal. They're given very few breaks, if they mess up on a piece of armor or weapon, they're beaten and have their food privileges taken away, and it's like this for them every solitary day."

"Wow." Vidia said, sounding genuinely stunned. "Are the other villages as bad as this?"

"Oh, some are worse." Marco chimed in. "The village where the light talents live has a strict curfew. Anyone cought out of their homes during it are killed on sight, unless they're being used a... light source."

"A light source?" Vidia said curiously.

"Because Light Talents like myself glow brighter than most fairies, we're used as a means for lighting dark areas, especially during night. Sometimes they bring them along when they're transporting supplies, and if they happen to get caught in the middle of a battle, the Light Talents have to remain where they are. They're not allowed to take cover or anything, they have to stand in their designated spot, which is usually right between the two opposing forces. We try to avoid hitting them when we can, but sometimes... somtimes it's just unavoidable. The looks... the looks on their faces while they're standing there... it's just... pure terror. They don't deserve that. Nobody deserves that. When I was told that Veronica was allowing that kind of thing on my own people, I join Clarion without hesitation. I hope we can convince you in a way similar to how I was convinced."

Vidia suddenly looked very pale, as though she were about to pass out. Slowly but surely, she was really starting to hate this place.

"Oh man," She moaned "I think I'm gonna be sick."

At that point, Violet moved in next to her and held her shoulders gently. She looked deeply concerned, and she showed that look to Marco and Creed.

"Guys, maybe we should take her back." She suggested. "I think she gets the picture."

Creed brought his hand to his chin and stroked it for a moment, pondering.

"I don't know." He mused. "I think there's still a little more she should see. It may be hard, but-"

Creed was cut off there by a loud horn that sounded from furtherdown in Tinkers Nook. It sounded loud and long, and it sailed all the way up to the tree branch they were on. As it continued on, large groups of Tinkers started pouring out of their work places. Along side them were fairies in black snail shell armor who were ushering them along. Some pushed and shoved the Tinkers harshly.

Vidia looked at the others with a worried and confused expression. Marco and Creed looked a bit confused as well, though not as much as she was. Violet was the only one who seemed to have an idea of what was going on, and she look downright horrified.

"What is it?" Vidia asked worriedly.

Nobody answered right away, and Vidia began to panic at that.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked again in a raised voice.

"I know that horn." Violet uttered. She looked them all over once. "It's and execution."

And now, they were all panicing.

"What do we do?" Marco asked. "Should we try to stop it?"

"We don't have the man-power for that, Marco." Creed said. "We try anything and we'll all be killed. We should just get out of here now."

"No." Vidia said quietly. "I want to see it."

The others all looked at her with horrified expressions. They couldn't believe that Vidia, who had been close to fainting a moment ago, now wanted to see probably the most horrifying thing that Veronica's soldiers were capable of.

"Should we?" Creed asked, turning to the others.

"It's why we brought her here in the first place." Violet said. "We wanted to show her how horrible things are here, now she can see Veronica at her worst."

"Yeah, but... an execution?" Marco said, sounding baffled. "There's no way she'll handle that. Especially if it's a-"

"You guys!" Vidia snapped. "It's what I want. It's what you want. It's what we all want. You wanted me to experience the horrors of Pixie Hollow, well now I'm willing to."

And saying that seemed to make up everybodies minds. Marco, Creed, and Violet all gave each other quick looks and nods, then turned back to Vidia.

"Very well, then." Creed said. "Let's get closer."

They waited for the roads below them to clear out a bit, then they all silently flittered down to the tops of one of the tea kettle roofs. They followed the crowd quietly, staying well out of sight on the rooftops until they came to the center of Tinkers Nook, where the crowd was gathered. In the center of the crowd was a tall wooden platform that towered over the crowd. On it were two very large sparrow-men wearing heavier and specially marked armor, obviously signifying that they were higher ranking. They looked over the gathering crowd with severe faces, as though they were scanning the areaa for threats. Vidia and the others were hidden well enough on one of the rooftops with only their faces peeking over the top of it.

In the center of the platform was a tall, wide wooden pole, and tied to the pole was a fairy in a blue dress with a black bag over her head. The bag was expanding and despanding rapidly, a sign that fairy under it was was probably hyperventilating with fear. On a wooden table next to her were an assorment of knives, steel hooks, and various other sharp objects.

"Oh no." Violet whispered to Vidia, who was next to her. "It's a disembowelment."

Vidias blood froze as the discription of that word entered her head.

"It's Veronica's favorite punishment." Marco added. "She's ordered it so many times that I personally think she's earned the title 'Veronica the Disemboweler.' I'm sure she's had it done on some Animal Talents too. It's just a needlessly gruesome way for her to keep the fairies she rules over in line."

Vidia turned back to Violet to see if she had anything to add. But Violet seemed to be too busy staring at the soon to be disemboweled fairiy. It look as though she were trying to work something out in her head about the victim. Vidia's attention was suddenly drawn back to the platform by a large cheer that rose from the crowd. Stepping up onto the platform now was a sparrow-man whose armor was the heaviest and most elaborate of all. He wore a black helmet over his head that only revealed the front of his face which was sharp and pointed with green eyes and a nasty smile. He held out his arms in pride as the crowd cheered him.

"Irving." Violet whispered to Vidia in almost a growl. "General of Veronica's army and Veronica's highest ranking guard. That man is the definition evil. I know eveythng there is to know about him."

"How so?" Vidia asked.

"I almost dated him." Violet answered.

"Oh." Vidia said simply, then turned back to the platform.

Irving walked in a circle around the stage, his arms still held out, encouraging more cheers. After a while though, he lowered one arm and held up one hand, signaling the crowd to stop. The cheers died down a bit, but some still whooped and hollered.

"SILENCE!" He roared. "SILENCE AT ONCE!"

His voice carried over the whole village. The crowd went quiet except for one sparrow-man who continued to clap. Irving rolled his eyes and in one swift mostion drew a knife fron his sheath and flinged it at the sparrow-man. It hit him dead center in the chest and he fell instantly with a thud. It was now deathly quiet. Irving looked over them once more, as if daring them to cheere again. When they didn't, he smiled again and began pacing back and forth.

"Today," He announced. "We have an assassin for you!" He pointed at the victim. "This pathetic fairy thought she could break into our Home Tree and kill our beloved Queen!"

The crowd booed angrily. Vidia turned to Marco looking confused.

"I don't get it. Why are they so happy for this Irving guy and so angry at that Rebel? I thought they hated Veronica too." She said.

"Veronica uses fear to control the population." Marco explained. "No one would dare try to show their hatred of her publically, or they would end up on that vey platform."

Vidia then turned to Violet to see what she had to say, but she had a look of utter horror on her face.

"No, it can't be..." She whispered.

Vidia turned to look at Creed and see how he was handling this. His face appeared surprisingly straight. Maybe he had seen this kind of thing plenty of times before and was used to it. Vidia turned back to the platform.

"Must I remind you all of who it was who saved us from certain extinction?" Irving shouted to the crowd. "Who it was who cleansed this land of the evil Animal Talents, who sought to lead us to ruin? It is Veronica who as brought us back from the edge of the abyss! It is Veronica, the Queen above all Queens, who has lead us to prosperity once again! It is Veronica to whome we all owe our lives!"

The crowd cheered again. Irving let it go for a while before silencing them with his hand again. This time they quieted down instantly.

"And yet, there are those Rebels, those fiends who would seek to remove her from power! They would lead us all back to the edge of oblivion! And last night, they came dangerously close to accomplishing their goal! But the strong arm of Her Majesties military was able to defeat them once again, just as we alway will!" Quick cheers from the crowd. Irving turned to the victim. "And now, this one here will pay the price for her insubordination!"

Irving walked over to the table and glance over all the sharp objects that were laid out there. He eventually decided on a large serrated knife about the length of his arm. He walked over the victim and postioned himself next to her. He grabbed the top of the black bag covering her head.

"Know this, Rebel!" He hissed at her. "What awaits you up here awaits all your friends and allies as long as they continue to oppose us! That goes for anyone who symapthizes with their plight as well!" He turned to the crowd again.

He pulled the bag off, revealing a badly bloodied and beaten young fairy. Vidia could easily feel Violet cringe next to her. It seemed as though she were about to leap off that roof towards the platform.

"I knew it!" She shrieked in a loud whisper. "It's Sandy! I've got to save her!"

Marco immediately rolled over the top off Vidia, grabbed Violet and held her down.

"No!" He hissed. "We can't risk it! There's nothing we can do!"

"He's right, Violet!" Creed said. "If we get their attention they'll chase us all the way back to our camp! None of us can outfly them! Not even me! They're too good!"

"I don't care!" Violet nearly screamed. "We can't let her die like this! I can't believe you're all being so cowardly! Especially you, Marco! You and I both owe her our lives for what she did last night! Is this how you want to repay her? By letting her be guttede like a pig?"

"Think, Violet!" Marco exclaimed. "Would she want us to risk everything for her? We would be throwing her sacrifice away if we tried to help her now!"

Vidia simply dind't know what to feel. On one had she felt Violets pain for her friend, but on the other hand she didn't want to end up tied to that pole along with Sandy.

"Do you have any last words, Rebel?" Came Irving's booming voice. "Perhaps you wish to beg for mercy?"

"D-DEATH TO VERONICA!" Sandy roared.

And with that, Vidia watched in horror as Irving drove the knife into her gut and dragged it all the way across. It was obvious that Sandy was trying not to scream as her face twisted up with pain, tears falling down her cheeks. Though Irving was slightly obscuring her view, Vidia could see bits of red and grey organs spilling to the ground. Irving drove his hand into her and began pulling out whatever he could get his hands on. Sandy began to vomit up blood as more and more of her innards spilled out. Vidia couldn't look away. She was glued to what was happening, and she felt like she could just about cry right there. She had no idea... no idea whatsoever that fairies were capable of this kind of evil. Meanwhile, Violet was still struggling next to her, though she seemed to be aware of the fact that it was too late.

After a few more minutes of ripping the organs from Sandy, Irving motioned for one of the sparrow-men guards to come forward. Vidia hadn't noticed before that he was carrying a torch. He approached Irving and handed him the torch. Irving brought the torch down to the pile of innards, some of which were still attached to Sandy, and ignited them. The smell of her burning organs carried all the way up to Vidia and the others, and Vidia just about vomited.

Sandy squealed a bit at the feeling of her organs searing in the fire. But she could also feel herself slipping out of consiousness. Slowly the pain began to fade, and the world around her began to turn white.

"Here I come, Simon." She whispered, and let her last breath escape her.

Vida felt a single tear slide down her cheek. She knew now where she belonged, and it was with these Rebels. Suddenly, she saw Violet break free of Marco and push him away.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed as she drew hew bow and an arrow.

Vidia was too shocked to do anything. She felt Creed brush past her and saw him dive for Violet. But he wasn't fast enough. Violet fired the arrow off. She had been aiming for Irving, but she had to fire quickly before Creed could get to her, so she ended up hitting the sparrow-man with the torch right between his shoulder blades. He fell instantly, and the whole crowd gasped. Irving spun around and caught a brief glimpse of Violet being down and out of his view. He knew it was her. He knew her face so well.

"Rebels!" He cried. "Over there! Kill them all!"

Vidia and the others were now speeding away from the area. They zig zagged through the houses, hoping to lose their pursuers. But they could hear them coming right up their heels. Creed knew that all it took was for one of them to see Vidia and she would be listed as a Rebel. Vidia knew that too, and she knew that at the rate they were going, they would never make it out. She felt she had to do someting. It was time to make herself useful to the Rebels. Then she remembered that she was a Fast-Flyer. She also remembered that Creed was one of those too, but he had claimed that even he wasn't fast enough to get away from Veronica's soldiers. Still, Vidia knew that she hadn't really attempted to fly as fast as she could. Maybe she was faster than Creed...

"Oh, we're not gonna make it out of here!" Creed shouted to them.

"We're gonna have to stand and fight!" Marco exclaimed. "And if it means we have to die to avoid leading them to our camp..."

"That might not be necessary!" Vidia said suddenly.

The others looked at her confused.

"What are you-" Creed began.

"Quick! Creed, Marco, grab my hands!" Vidia ordered.

Creed and Marco hesitated a bit, but Vidia gave them a look which urged them to grab them. She then hovered a bit in the air and turned back to Violet, who looked deeply shaken.

"Violet, you grab my feet! Hurry!" She instructed.

Violet still looked confused and pale, but she nonetheless quickly wrapped her hands around both of Vidias ankles. Vidia could hear the crowd getting closer and closer to them. She didn't have time to get adjusted. All she knew was that she had to fly fast and hard right now.

"Everybody hold on tight!" She shouted.

And with every ounce of power in her body, she flittered her wings as fast as she could and sped off out of Tinkers Nook. The world was flying by her at a rapid pace, yet Vidia was fully aware of where everything was around her. She zipped between trees and swooshed over water, creating whirlpools. She felt the others all holding on to her with all their might. She felt the wind whip against her brutally. It was a good feeling. She knew she had to be flying faster than any fairy had ever flown before. but she could feel proud about that later. Right now she had to get her friends to safety, and though she didn't remeber exactly where the Rebel camp was, she knew that anywhere as far from Pixie Hollow as possible was safe.

**Should I up this to an "M" rating? Let me know if you want that. Thanks! :)**


	8. The Fastest Fairy?

**Just a quick announcement. I'm gonna update the rating to an M sometime in the following week. I just thought I'd let you all know in case you come on here one day and find that the story's no longer listed with the K to T rated stories. For those who don't know, just look at the top of the story list at the ratings box and select M to find this story.**

**I have to admit, I hadn't planned on making this to graphic a story. I wanted it to be dark, but not overly violent or sexual. Then during that last chapter, I was trying to decide on what I wanted the execution to be. I had planned on a beheading or hanging at first, but didn't think that would be effective enough. After all, I really want you to hate or love to hate the bad guys, so I tried to think of something more horrific. Then I remembered, this is happening in a kinda medeval time for Pixie Hollow, so what would be a more medeval style form of execution? Then the movie Braveheart came to mind and I was like "Disembowelment! That kind of thing really happened in those days!" I knew it would be a little too violent, but it seemed oddly appropriate. I didn't want to be too graphic with the description at first, but as I was writing, I started to get a little carried away. It was like I had no control over what I was writing, it was just sorta happening. Anyway, that's when I decided to make this an M; it'll give me a bit more freedom for future chapters. It's gonna be an ugly, brutal, sadistic story now!**

**I think I've rambled on enough. Once again, thank you all for your kind words! It really motivates me to write faster! Now on with the story...**

Vidia had been flying non-stop for a good ten minutes. She still had no idea where she was going, but anywhere was better than back there. Still, she knew she couldn't fly forever. Her body was beginning to ache fiercely from the all the effort she was putting into it. She felt as though her wings were about to tear from her back like paper. On top of that, the was losing the feeling in her hands and feet from how tightly Creed, Marco, and Violet were gripping them. Deep down she began to feel that she had lost their persuers a long time ago, but she just didn't want to take any chances. She didn't want to end up like Sandy had.

_'That poor thing...' _Vidia had been thinking to herself constantly.

She couldn't get the image out of her head of that poor thing having her entrails ripped from her and set on fire. She couldn't even imagine a worse way to die. she had barely been alive for a day and she had already been scarred for life. But now she felt like she truly did belong with these Rebels. She felt deeply grateful to them for bringing her in instead of letting those despicable guards have her. She wanted to do anything she could for them, and she knew Clarion had something in the works for her. Whatever it was, Vidia would proudly do it.

Though the world was blurred around her, Vidia could easily make out a large blue mass ahead of her. It was the ocean. She had flown all the way to the coast of Neverland in mere minutes. She wondered what Creed, her fellow Fast-flyer would have to say about that. She slowed her wings gradually and saw that the world around her was starting to clear up. Nobodies grips seemed to loosen, though, and when Vidia turned to look a them, she saw that they all had their eyes squeezed shut.

Vidia slowed significantly when she came right down to the soft, sandy beach at the waters edge. At that point she felt Violets grip loosen significantly around her ankles, and the relinquish completely. Vidia lowered her feet to the ground. They skidded a bit on the soft sand, slowing her down even more. She finally stopped completely right at the point where the sand was damp from the tide. She looked behind her to see that Violet was sitting cross-legged on the ground. She was blank-faced, pale, and shaking violently. Creed and Marco hadn't loosened their hold of Vidia one bit since they landed. Their eyes were still shut tight, and they were shaking as violently as Violet.

"You can let go now." Vidia said shakily. "I think we're safe here."

Creed and Marco's eyes slowly opened and they simultaniously released Vidias hands. They both stepped away from her and looked around. Marco appeared to be as badly shaken as Violet, but Creed seemed to be almost fascinated by something. The expression on his face wasn't fear, but wide-eyed wonder. He looked as if he hadn't expected to end up here. Vidia wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she was distracted by Marco, who had just stormed towards Violet, grabbed her shoulders and hauled her to her feet, and slapped her right across the face.

"ARE YOU MAD?" He roared. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING BACK THERE? YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN US ALL KILLED!"

Violet didn't say a word in retaliation. In fact, her expression hadn't changed a bit, though now she had a big red mark on her cheek. Marco slapped again, this time across her other cheek.

"DON'T YOU PLAY MUTE WITH ME, VIOLET!" He shouted.

Vidia felt Creed rush past her. She saw him throw himself at Marco and pull him off Violet, who collapsed to the ground instantly, tears beginning to glisten against her red cheeks.

"Calm yourself, Marco!" Creed shouted as he pinned him to the ground. "We didn't die! We're safe! There's no reason to act this way!"

"NO REASON?" Marco roared back. "HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MORE BLATANT DISREGUARD FOR OUR SAFETY? WHAT IF THEY HAD FOLLWED US BACK TO OUR CAMP? WE WOULD'VE LOST EVERYTHING!"

The two engaged in a shouting match for quite some time. vidia found it almost impossible to make out what they were saying, and truthfully, she didn't want to get involved. She thought it would be better to let them work it out on their own, as she was sure they usually did when they fought. But when Vidia turned her attention to Violet, who was still on the ground and now sobbing quite hard, she felt she should try to help her in some way. She approached her and extended her hand.

"Are you okay?" She asked calmly.

Violet responded by flinging her arms around Vidias legs and burying her face into her knees. She began to sob even harder now. Vidia could feel her warm tears seeping through her clothes. She didn't now what to do, but the sight of this brave fairy, who had been through so much in her life, breaking down and crying like this was enought to make Vidia's eyes begin to well up. She slowly lowered herself to Violets level and embraced her as tightly as she could.

"I'm sorry, Violet." Vidia said, her voice breaking. "I'm so sorry. I wish I could've done something."

"Sh-she didn't deserve to die that way." Violet whimpered into Vidias ear. "I-I wish it h-had been me."

"Please don't talk like that. You're starting to depress me." Vidia choked out, trying to throw in a giggle or two, but coming up with nothing.

It took her a while to notice that Creed and Marcos shouting had subsided. She turned her head to see that they were now staring at the girls, Marco in particular looking a bit ashamed of himself. Creed aprroached the two faries and put his hands on both their shoulders.

"I'm sorry, girls, but there was nothing we could've done back there." He told them gently. "It's a terrible thing, I know. But we can't let it get to us. This kind of thing is happening every day, and it's going to continue happening until we do something about it."

Violet didn't respond, but Vidia gently pulled away from her a rose to her feet.

"I know that now." She said profoundly. "And I'm willing to do whatever I can to help you guys. I'm sorry I was so cold before. I just didn't want to believe this was happening. I thought I was just going to spend my life making wind and collecting pollen and whatever else Fast-Flyers do. But now..."

Vidia broke off right there. She couldn't think of anything more she needed to say. Creed seemed to understand though. He could see it in those deep dark eyes of hers that she was ready to become a Rebel now.

"I'm glad you feel that way now, Vidia." He said. "I have a feeling you'll really be a valuable asset to our cause."

Vidia just nodded. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to go back to Tinkers Nook and take out every last one of those evil guards. She hadn't even known that fairy they executed, yet she wanted to avenge her so badly. Still, she knew that Clarion seemed to want her for something else. Whatever that something was, Vidia just hoped it meant she got to kill as many of those monsters as possible.

Marco stepped up now, he extended a hand towards Violet, who after a bit of reluctance, took it.

"I'm sorry I hit you, Vi." He said as he lifted her off the ground. "I was just... scared. I didn't thik I was going to make it out of that one alive. But I know you were just worried for your freind. The truth is, I probably would've done the same if it was you down there."

Violet couldn't find her voice. She didn't think she'd be able to for some time either. Her throat was just too swollen up from her crying. She simply gave a solemn nod of her head and wiped a few tears away. She had to admit though, even though she had never been particualrily interested in Marco romantically, she found it touching that he said he would've tried to save her if she had been in Sandy's postion. Still, Violet knew better than to have romantic feelings for anyone in the Rebel army. When you faced the risk of losing someone close to you every solitary day, it was better to just not harbor those kinds of feelings.

Meanwhile Creed was checking out his surroundings again. The awe that had been on his face when they first got there had returned, and now Vidia wanted to know what was up with him. But before she could ask, he spoke.

"Do you guys know where we are?"

Marco and Violet looked around cluelessly for a bit. Then Marco answered.

"We're nowhere near Pixie Hollow, that's for sure."

"Exactly. We're down on the southern coast I believe." Creed said. "It takes an average fairy at least three or four hours to get from Pixie Hollow to this point. For a Fast-Flyer like me, maybe half an hour to fourty five minutes at top speed." He turned to Vidia. "How long do you think you were flying for?"

Vidia thought for a moment.

"Couldn't have been much longer than ten or fifteen minutes, I suppose." She said thoughtfully. "I'm not exactly sure though. I wasn't exactly worrying about time at that moment."

"Me neither." Creed said. "But I know for a fact that it wasn't very long."

"Um, what exactly are you getting at, Creed?" Vidia asked, a bit irritated.

"It's just... I don't think there has ever been a fairy that could cover that much ground in such short amount of time." Creed explained. "Like I said earlier, I'm a Fast-Flyer, but even I can't outfly the Elite Gaurds. But you... well, not only did you outfly them, but you got us all the way to the coast in mere minutes. As far as I know, no fairy as ever done that before."

Now Vidia was starting to understand what Creed was trying to say, and to be honest, it freaked her out a bit. No fairy had ever done what she had just done before? Did that mean...

"Hey guy's, look at this!" Marco shouted from behind them.

The group moved over to him and saw that he was pointing at a sort of small, yet long ditch that seemed carved into the ground and was leading right up to where they were. The ditch was littered with debis and rubble. It looked almost like the kind of destructive path a tornado would leave. They all stared at it in amazement, particularily Vidia.

"Did... I do that?" She asked in wonder and awe.

"Seems likely." Marco replied. "Fast-Flyers do have the ability to make wind as they fly, but this looks more like a hurricane or something! I've never seen anything like it!"

Vidia suddenly felt this extreme burst of power coursing through her. Moments ago she felt as weak and vulnerable as did when she was born. Now, she felt as though she could take on Veronica's entire army all by herself. The looks Creed and Marco were giving her only added to her powerful feeling. Violet still looked as defeated as ever, but Vidia didn't blame her, she had been through too much today to really give a damn about Vidias skills at flying fast. Still, she couldn't help but notice for a brief second her eyes seemed to glaze over with what appeared to be amazement.

"Now I can't say for sure," Creed said to Vidia after a while. "But I think you may very well be the fastest fairy that has ever existed. As a Fast-Flyer who's been around since the beginning of Pixie Hollow, I feel pretty confident that there hasn't been a fairy as fast as you."

Vidia simply didn't know what to say. The horrific events of the day began to slip from her memory as she stared longer and longer at the path she had carved. She couldn't even begin to imagine what else she was capable of. Sha had a feeling that the Rebels were going to feel very lucky that they brought her in. If Veronica had gotten to her first...

"Wow." Vidia finally managed to say after a long silence.

And for the first time since that morning, the others (excluding Violet) chuckled a bit. It seemed almost sick that they could be laughing like this after what they had just witnessed moments ago, but it was definately a good piece of news that they now had a fairy with this kind of power on their side.

"Clarion's definately going to want to hear about this." Creed said. "I think it might play a big part in her deciding what to do with you."

"I can't wait." Vidia said cooly, and this time there was no sarcasm whatsoever in her voice. She meant it.

"Alright then." Creed said with an exhausted sigh. "I think we should head back for camp now. I'm sure Irving's given up on trying to find us by now. He has a reputation for being quite lazy after all, letting his soldiers do all the dirty work and whatnot."

The others all responded with nods, and simultaneously took off into the sky. Vidias back was still a bit sore from earlier, and she knew her bed wasn't going to help much with that either. Maybe the floor would be more comfortable.

Creed led the way through the Neverland forest. He seemed to know the whole island like the back of his hand. Vidia smiled a bit as she watched him lead her and the others through the trees. She was glad that he was on her side, and she suddenly felt deep admiration for him that she couldn't explain. It had come right out of nowhere, and she couldn't let it go. She had no idea that Creed was feeling something very similar about her at that moment, and he also couldn't undertand why he felt that way.

Marco and Violet lagged a little bit behind Creed and Vidia. Marco had his arm around her shoulder and seemed to be helping her along. He also seemed to be whispering something to her that Vidia couldn't make out. It was becoming no secret to her though, that those two had some sort of special understanding of each other, and maybe they had feelings for each other that were a little bit stronger than friendship.

It was beginning to feel late when the group came into view of their oak tree home. It was a very relieving sight, though it took Vidia a little longer than the others to recognize it. In the sky above them, Veronica's storm continued to swirl. The brief flash of lightning occurred every once in a while, accompanied by a dull clap of thunder. Vidia stared up at it again. This storm, which had at first mezmerized and terrified he, now filled her with rage at the one who created it. Now that she knew what she was capable of, Vidia almost felt like bolting up towards it and taking out every Storm Talent that had to be up there fueling it. She felt Marco and Violet pass her and realized that she had been lagging behind a bit, so she sped up towards Creed as he descended into the camp.

The scene under the tree was unlike any Vidia had seen yet. The first time she had seen it, it was full of fairies and sparrow-men who were gawking at her for being the new arrival. That morning it had been crowded in the mess hall area as they all consumed their morning meals, and there had been a real sense of apprehension in the air, as if they were all really looking forward to getting into some action. Now, it was full of dead and injured Rebels as well as live ones rushing back and forth, trying to aid as many of the wounded as they could. Fairies and sparrow-men were laying down all over the place on blood-stained cots. Some were crying for help, others were shaking violently and moaning. Some had limbs hacked off and mangled, some were bleeding profusly from deep stab wounds.

All the horrify images of the day came rushing back to Vidia as she watched the scene unfold around her. The disembowelment, Violets story, the Light Talent's disturbing job... it was all too much. The empowerment Vidia felt moments ago left her instantly. She didn't want to look at this anymore. She caught up to Creed, who didn't look at all shaken by the scene around him.

"Is it... always like this?" She asked him shakily.

Creed just closed his eyes.

"You get used to it after a while." He said quietly.

Marco came up to them. He still had his arm around Violet.

"I'm taking her to the infirmy." He told them. "She's had a bad shock. I think they can give her a sedative or something to help her through the night."

Creed nodded his approval. Marco then turned to Vidia, who looked more pale than he had seen that whole day.

"You did good today, Vidia." He said sincerely. "I don't think we'd have made it out of there if you hadn't been with us. I'll see to it that Clarion knows about your exceptional skill at fast-flying. Either I'll tell her or Creed will."

"I'll take care of it." Creed assured him. "I need to see her now anyway and give her a situation report for the day." He turned to Vidia. "Meanwhile, I think you should get some rest, Vidia. For now, all we need you to do is wait for Clarion to summon you. I'm not sure exactly when that will be, but I'll come get you when it's time."

"Yeah, okay." Vidia said wearily. "Thank you, all of you, for filling me in on everything. I just hope I can do enough for you all."

"I'm sure you'll do great things for us." Marco said. "Goodnight everyone."

"Goodnight, Marco, Violet." Vidia said quietly.

Violet managed a small nod before Marco led her away. Vidia then turned back to Creed.

"I guess I'll see you when I see you." She said to him.

"Sleep well, Vidia." Creed said kindly.

"Thank you, darling." Vidia mumbled as she flittered away from him.

Creed watched her for a while as she flew to her room. He thought he had heard her call him darling or something. He couldn't quite hear clearly enough, but it definitely sounded like darling. He shrugged it off though, and took off for Clarions quarters.

Meanwhile, Vidia herself was surprised that she had used the word darling for Creed. She barely knew him, and she was already using pet-names? She figured she was just tired and wasn't thinking straight. She arrived at her room shortly, surprised at how good her memory was of this place. When she got in, she immediately plopped down on her uncomfortable leaf bed, which for some reason felt a little less lumpy. Maybe she was already getting used to it.

She let her eyelids droop steadily, and waited for her dreams to come, dreams that she was sure would really be nightmares of the days events. Little did she know though, that Clarion was already sending Creed to fetch her. She had finally decided on what she was going to do with Vidia, and it was something that she felt would very well turn the tide of the conflict.

**Just a reminder: look for this story under M ratings sometime in the near future. Thanks!**


	9. Vidias Task

What Vidia was dreading would be a nightmare fuled sleep lasted only a few minutes when the knock at her door came. She jerked awake, a bit disoriented, and looked around her room. It looked as dungy and decayed as ever. Vidia couldn't help but shudder a bit at the thought that she would probably have to spend a good long time in this room. But then she remembered all those injured Rebels in the infirmiry. They were all in terrible pain, some of them horribly deformed and missing limbs, while all she had to put up with was a lousy living condition. She scolded herself for being so selfish for that brief moment. She was here to help them, and if it meant having to stay in this room, then so be it.

The knock came again, this time accompanied by a familiar voice.

"Vidia?"

It was Creed. What could he possibly want? They had just bade each other good night not more than a couple hours ago. Vidia stretched a bit, her bones popping noisily as she did, then got up and went to the door. When she opened it, sure enough, Creed was standing there, and he looked deadly serious.

"What's wrong, Creed?" Vidia asked worriedly.

"Clarion wishes to see you now." Creed said profoundly. "She's decided on what she wants you to do for us."

Vidia gasped a bit. Deep down inside her, she began to feel a burst of energy. She was about to be given a chance to possibly change the tide of this whole conflict! She had seen how powerful she was, and Creed had no doubt filled Clarion in on what it was she had done. She could very well become the hero of the Rebellion! Maybe that Mother Dove person would be so impressed with her skill that she would change her mind about Clarion and decide to make Vidia the new Queen of Pixie Hollow! Vidia didn't want to let her imagination run wild right at that moment, but the thought of being worshiped by all the fairies and sparrow-men was a bit too tantalizing at that moment. She couldn't help but smile a bit, which Creed noticed.

"Are you smiling?" He asked, sounding a bit disturbed.

"What? Oh, um... I was..." Vidia stuttered. "I was just... you know... thinking about how great it's gonna be to start fighting for you guys."

"Ah," Creed said. "Well, I hope you realize that it won't be all fun and games. You've seen first hand what the enemy is capable of."

"Yeah, I know." Vidia murmered. _'What I'm gonna do to them will sure feel like fun and games to me, though.' _

Creed nodded solmnly, turned away and started down the hall. Vidia followed him, and as she did, she couldn't help but wonder what had come over her a few moments ago when she was imagining herself as the Queen. She wasn't doing any of this for herself, she was doing it for the all the other Rebels who had been fighting valiently, who had suffered terribly under such an oppressive rule for the past few centuries. She just wanted life to be better for them, and she didn't need any glory for helping them get that. Still, it was a pretty satisfying thought though...

...

Minutes later the two arrived at Clarions quarters. The door was open this time, and Vidia could see Clarion inside. She was sitting at her desk, her head pressed up against her folded hands and her eyes closed. She looked as though she were praying. Creed stepped aside at the entrace and ushered Vidia to go in. She did, and Creed follwed her inside. Clarions hadn't moved an inch since the two had entered the room. Vidia gave Creed a confused look, and Creed returned it with a shrug. He had no idea what Clarion was doing. She had seemed perfectly awake when he had been with her just a few seconds ago. Vidia gave a small cough, and it was enough to get Clarions attention. She looked up from her hand and when she saw who it was, she quickly stood up and straightend herself out.

"Good evening, Vidia." She greeted. "How are you?"

"Affected." Vidia answered. "After what I've seen today, I'm totally affected."

Clarion frowned a bit and nodded her head.

"Yes, Creed told me about your experience today." She said. "I had hoped you wouldn't have to be exposed to that kind of thing so early in your life, but considering what it is I have planned for you, I think you should be aware of as many of the atrocities commited around here on a daily basis as you can."

Vidia couldn't help but feel a little confused at that statement. Why did Clarion want her to know more about any other acts of evil that were being commited? Hadn't she seen enough today?

"Well, just know, Clarion," Vidia began. "That I am truly sorry for the way I acted last night. I just didn't want to believe something like this was really happening. I didn't want to believe that fairies were capable of such acts. But after what I've seen today, I'm ready to accept that what you told me was true. I'm prepared to do anything it takes to bring an end to Veronica's regin of terror and see to it that she's punished for her crimes against fairy-kind. With the ability i have, which I believe Creed has already told you about, I think I can really do a lot for you."

Clarion did manage to smile a bit, but it was a very uneasy seeming smile, and it bothered Vidia a bit.

"I am happy to hear that, Vidia." Clarion said after while. "And Creed _did _mention your Fast-Flying skills to me. Very impressive indeed, and they _might _play a small part in what I want you to do for us." Clarion motioned to the chair in front of her desk. "Please sit down."

Vidia sat, and as she did, Creed began to walk away. But before he could leave, Clarion stopped him.

"Creed, I need you here too." She called to him.

Creed turned to look back at them, and he had a seriously disconcerted look on his face.

"Does- does your plan involve me in some way?" He asked apprehensively. "Because you know that I kind of have my hands full as it is, right?"

"I know, Creed." Clarion said calmly. "But the more I thought about it, the more I began to feel that having you in on this might be helpful. Two Fast-Flyers would really be much better than one. So please, have a seat next to Vidia."

The look of apprehension on Creeds face didn't fade one bit. Vidia could tell that he was deeply disconcerted about something. Still, hae came back into the room and seated himself in the chair beside Vidia. Even though she couldn't figure out why he appeared to be so worried, Vidia felt a slight wave of relief wash over her. For some reason, she felt much more comfortable knowing that Creed was going to be with her on whatever it was she had to do. Even though she had only known him for a day, she really was beginning to feel close to him. She just hopeed he felt the same way about her. He was impressed with her Fast-Flying skills though, so she supposed that was something.

Clarion eyed the two for a moment. It appeared as if she were still going over a few details of whatever her plan was in her head. Vidia felt as if she were about to explode with anticipation. The posters on the walls surrounding her with their Veronica hating propaganda were only serving to fule that anticipation. She turned to look at Creed and saw that he still looked rather worried. She wanted to ask him if something was wrong, but her throat was simply too dry. She felt like if she did try to talk, all she would get out would be nothing but croaks.

"Alright," Clarion began, snapping Vidias attention back to her. "Now, listen carefully, both of you; I thought long and hard about what an appropriate couse of action would be for our new ally. I believe now that I have thought of something that, if handled as properly as possible, may very well end this conflict within a matter of months."

'_I knew it.' _Vidia thought to herself, a look of pride forming on her face. _'I knew I'd be the one to end this.'_

"Now, Vidia," Clarion continued. "As I said before, Creed has indeed mentioned to me your little demonstration of power earlier today, an I am impressed. If what he told me is indeed true, then you may very well be the fastest fairy who has ever existed, and maybe even who ever _will_ exist."

"Thank you." Vidia said a bit sheepishly.

Creed gave her a slightly scathing look. As if he was saying "How dare you interrupt our leader!" It made Vidia feel a bit uncomfortable, so she turned to see if Clarion was irritated. Luckily, she had managed a small smile, though it quickly faded to a very serious look.

"But I'm afraid that being the fastest fairy alive will not accomplish much for us at this time." Clarion said grimly.

And right there at that mometn, Vidia could feel that huge balloon of anticipation that was swelling up inside her deflate completely. Before she could say anything, though, Clarion continued.

"As you may recall from last night, I told you that as long as Veronica continues to live, this conflict cannot end. Decimating her armies won't bring us any closer to saving our land. All that can do for us is buy us time, because every time we take out a faction of her troops, they're replaced almost instantly by new arrivals. In truth, we are really not accomplishing much by simply battling with her military, but we can't just stand by and let them torture and kill innocents!" Clarion was starting to sound a bit exasperated at that point. "But... I... we... we can't-" She sighed. "We can't just use you as another soldier. It won't be enough. We need to do something more... drastic."

Vidia felt a chill run down her spine at the sound of that word. What exactly was Clarion getting at? She turned to look at Creed, who gave her an confused look and a shrug. He had no idea where Clarion was going with this. Besides, there were other things bothering him more severely at that moment. Personal things.

"You may recall," Clarions started. "That last night I told you about our recent failure of using a double agent to feed us information on Veronica's security and location and then using said information to attempt an assassination?"

"Um, uh huh." Vidia croaked.

"Well," Clarion said. "The more I think back on it, the more I begin to realize that maybe there were some things that I didn't consider well enough at that time. For one thing, Jake was fairly well known in the Pixie Hollow. Maybe he was little more well known than I thought. They had him registered and everything, so the enemy was probably able to keep tabs on his actions. I can't be entirely sure if the enemy knew he had been working for us all along and had threatened him to join their side, or if he was just corrupted by Veronica's influence and betrayed us on his own free accord. Either way, it was a mistake on my part to use someone like him. But someone like you on the other hand..."

And suddenly, Vidia felt her blood freeze. _Now _she had pretty good idea of where this was going. Creed seemed to know too, because she could pratically feel him tense up. Clarion could easily sense both of their reactions, and knew she had to scramble to expain herself.

"Now think about this for a minute," She said quickly. "The enemy has no record of you, Vidia, and from what Creed told me, they didn't see your face today. It sounds to me like they don't even know you exist. how do you think that can be used to our advantage?"

"You're- you're not seriously thinking what I think you're thinking?" Vidia said, terrified.

Creed quickly stood up next to her.

"Calrion, with all due respect, last time should've been enough of a lesson for us!" He exclaimed. "It's far too risky, and there's a very small chance that it will pay off! Besides, Vidia's barely 24 hours old! How can we throw something so heavy on her so soon?"

"Now hold on a minute!" Clarion said, raising her hand to sillence them. "You haven't even heard the details yet!"

Now Vidia was on her feet as well.

"I think I have a pretty good idea what they are!" She shouted. "You want me to go undercover and feed you information so you can try another assassination! Instead of using my ability to destroy them, you want me to- to..."

"It didn't work last time, Clarion! What makes you think it will work this time?" Creed asked angrily.

"BOTH OF YOU SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP NOW!" Clarion roared.

Vidia and Creed both reeled back a bit from Clarions sudden outburst, and now the only sound that could be heard in that room was their heavy breathing. They both rettok their seats, though the looks of shock on their faces hadn't diminished one bit. Clarion took a few deep breaths as well, then continued explaining in a much calmer tone.

"I'll tell you why it has a chance of working this time. We're going to handle this a little differently this time. First off, I will admit that yes, Vidia, My plan is to use you as a double agent. I want you to join their ranks and pass yourself off as one of them. As I said earlier: they have absolutely no idea that you exist. Every other Rebel in this camp is either in their registry or has been identified by them during combat. If I tried to send any of them on this task, they would be immediately discovered as working for us. But you... they would have no reason whatsoever to expect you."

Vidia looked as though she were about to pass out from shock. She simply couldn't believe that Clarion was suggesting this to her. After what she had seen today, she was practically ready to lead the charge against them. She wanted nothing more than to massacre every last one of them. But now Clarion was ordering her to join them? How could she do this to her? The one thing that was keeping her from having a massive freak out right then and there was the fact that Creed seemed just as surprised by it as she was, so at least she had him on her side.

"Now, listen carefully," Clarion said in a tone of extreme severity. "We're going to handle this a bit differently than last time. First, we will send you to them in the form of a new arrival. Then-"

"Wait a minute!" Vidia snapped. "In the form of a new arrival? What does that mean?"

"Since I am destined to become the new Queen of Pixie Hollow -unless I die before this conflict ends- I have been granted a few special abilities." Clarion explained. "One of these is the ability to reverse your form to the flower petal that you were when you first arrived. If you just go to them as you are now, they'll know that you were found by us first and will probably have you killed on sight." Vidia shuddered noticably, but Clarion ignored it. "If we send you in as a flower petal, they'll have no reason to suspect you. It'll be too perfect. Now, Mother Dove gave me a good idea of how to reverse a fairy's growth. I haven't actually attempted it yet, but as far as I know there are no dangrous side effect, and it definitely won't kill you. Are you understanding everything I've said so far?"

"Yes, I am." Vidia replied curtly. "And I'm hating it more and more."

"Please, just continue to hear me out a little longer." Clarion pleaded. "As I said eariler, the success of this plan could very well mean the end of the conflict within a few months time, meaning that what it is I will have you doing will not last long."

Vidia just sighed and closed her eyes. She slid back furthur into her chair and folded her hands in a sort of "I'm listening" way. Creed, meanwhile was starting to look more and more exhasperated, though Clarion really coulnd't understand why. Still, Vidia was in a listening mood now, and that was good enough for her.

"Now then," She continued. "Once you have been taken in by them, there are two possible things that will happen. The first thing -which is the one I'm hoping for- will be that they immediately force you into recruitment for their military. They would only do that if they think you're good enough for them, though. That's where the skill you demonstrated today may very well come in handy. Showing them what you can do and how well you can do it will definitely influence their decsion. But if for some reason they don't recruit you, then you will have to recruit yourself. I highly doubt you will have to do that, though. They would be crazy not to take you in the minute they see your skills.

"Anyway, you will train with them, learn their ways, and eventually have to pass yourself off as one of them. You will be given a new home, proabaly in their barracks or something, they'll need to have you close by at all times so you'll be ready for suprise attacks or other military actions. I should tell you that their living conditions are significantly better than our from what I've heard, so you won't have to put up with your current quarters for much longer."

Vidia had to admit she felt a brief wave of relief sweep over her, but it was indeed very _brief. _Clarions plan was scaring her more and more as it went on. What exactly did Clarion mean by "pass herself off as one of them?" And almost as if she were psychic, Clarion answered that question.

"Now, when I said that you will have to adapt to their lifestyle, that means doing what they do, acting how they act, and just... becoming one of them."

Vidia felt numb all over. Acting how they act? Doing what they do? That pretty much meant that she would have to participate in the many acts of cruelty she heard about and witnessed that day! Not only that, but she had to pretend to enjoy it as well! When she had said earlier that she would be willing to do anything to help the Rebel cause, she hadn't exactly considered this, and she was cursing heself for not doing so.

"After enough time passes," Clarion started up again. "And if you perform your tasks well enough, then there may come a time where you will be commended for your service to the Queen. And, depending on what it is you do and how well you do it... it may be Veronica herself who commends you."

Now it seemed almost unearthly silent in Clarions quarters. Both Vidia and Creed were listening so intently that even the slightest noise from outside the room would've caused either of them to storm towards the door and scream at everyone on the other side to shut up. But for both of them now, the plan was starting to become clear.

"A similar thing happened with Jake." Clarion continued. "He had fought valiently for them duing a small skirmsh not too long ago. Veronica had personally congratulated him during a small, private ceremony. Right then and there could've been his chance to take her out. Why he didn't, I don't think I will ever know. Maybe he was in a situation where he would never have been able to do the deed and get out of there alive, or maybe he had already decided to betray us by that time. Either way, it was a missed oppertunity that has haunted me since every day since it happened and will continue to haunt me until the day I die.

"Now I had never expected Jake to actually come into contact with Veronica. All I wanted was for him to understand the layout and patrolling patterns of the guards. When he gave us enough information, I authorized a small group to snneak into her palace in the Home Tree and assassinate her. And as you already know, that plan failed miserably. The thing that bothers me the most about that whole debacle is that I had known that he had met with Veronica personally mere days before the assassination was to be carried out. I was wondering constantly why he didn't just finish the job right then and there and save us a whole world of trouble." She paused for a moment, then hung her head. "I suppose I was beginning to suspect that something wasn't quite right with him. I probably should've called the whole thing off, but instead I chose to ignore that suspicion and push the plan forward. Maybe I was just so desperate for an end to this whole nightmare that I didn't want to believe anything could go wrong." A single tear fell down her cheek, glistening a bit from the candle light that lit the room. "And I'm supposed to be their next Queen..." She said quietly and shamefully.

Vidia was simply to petrified with fear and anticipation to feel sympathetic at that moment. She was even beginning to feel a tad bit irritated that Clarion was taking so long to get to the point.

"Sooo..." She goaded.

Clarion immediately looked back up at Vidia again, and the look that she gave her terrified her to her core. It was a look that clearly said "The fates of millions is about to be laid in your hands." Vidia felt daangerously close to passing out. But she had to hear this last part.

"What Jake failed to do," Clarion said. "Is now being tasked to you. When the time comes that Veronica wishes to personally commend you, you must kill her."

And now it was all clear to her. Vidia was about to become quite possible the most famous political assassin in Neverlands history. She suddenly felt more alive, more willing and able. She knew the road to get there was going to be long and hard, but it would all be worth it in the end when she would be the one to send the evil dictator to her grave. The images of being chosen to be the next queen instead of Clarion came rushing back to her. The only thing that kept her from smiling this time was the fact that she remembered that it would indeed be a long, hard road before that had any chance of happening. She turned to get a quick look at Creed, and to her shock, he _still _looked deeply concerned about something. She assumed that it was her safety that had him worried. As much as she appreciated that, she still felt he should know better than to worry about her. Especially after what he had seen from her earlier that day.

"Wow." Was all she managed to say after a while.

"Do you think you can do this, and do it properly, Vidia?" Clarion asked.

"I- I think I can." Vidia said in an awed tone. "But I have a few questions for you, if that's alright."

"Certainly, I'll be happy to tell you anything you wish to know." Clarion replied.

"Okay," Vidia began. "First off, how exactly am I supposed to work my way up the ranks to get to Veronica? What exactly will they have me doing?"

Clarion sighed sadly.

"I'm afraid this will be the hardest part of your task." She said grimly. "In order for them to totally trust you, you will have to participate in whatever acts of barbarism and cruelty they commit, and to make matters worse, you will have to appear to be enjoying it. I've seen the looksof pleasure they have on their faces when they are killing or torturing. It's truly sickening, but you will have to adapt to it for the sake of the plan. Now, there will also most likly be small scale battles against us that you might be involved in. In order to give them a reason to have you commended, you will have to fight us as if we were your true enemy. I will make it clear to the other Rebels that you are among them, and hopefully they can avoid accidently killing you. I can't promise that, though. They fight so valiently and with so much passion that it might be hard for them to recognize you. But just put your heart into every battle and you should be fine."

Vidia managed a small nod. She prayed that she would never have to come across Creed, Marco, or Violet.

"Okay," She said after a moment of taking it all in. " Now, does this mean I won't be coming back to this place ever again? The Rebel camp, I mean?"

Clarion seemed to suddenly brighten up a bit.

"Actually I'm very glad you asked me that, because this is where Creed comes in to the picture." She said.

Creed suddenly looked very attentive.

"What would you have me do, Clarion?" He asked.

"Although we don't necessarily need information on layouts or patrolling patterns," Clarion explained. "We would still be well off knowing about supply shipments, or potential attacks, or anything else the enemy is planning of doing. Now, since I can't risk my own safty by leaving this tree, I need somebody to meet up with Vidia every night so she can relay any information she uncovers to us. I think another Fast-Flyer would be perfect for this. Every night, Vidia, I want you to use your Fast-Flying skills to sneak out of your baracks and meet Creed at the edge of Pixie Hollow, preferably in a part not too close to our camp. Do you know any good places, Creed?"

Creed though for a moment.

"That rotted out old log at the far eastern edge of the Hollow. " He said. "That's pretty far from here."

Can you find that place, Vidia?" Clarion asked.

"Yeah, I managed to get the layout of this place pretty well today." She answered. "I'll find it."

"Good." Clarion said. "Anyway, at that place I want you give Creed any of the kind of information i mentioned earlier so that he can relay it to us. That way we may be better prepared for what the enemy had planned. Perhaps we can use that information to help you as well. If there are any patrols you will be involved in, tell us about them, that way we can send some Rebels to battle your group and you can use your skills against us. Do you think you can do that, Vidia?"

"Yeah, I think so." Vidia answered with a slightly raspy voice. Her throat was so dry at that moment.

Clarion turned to Creed.

"And you?" She asked.

Creed seemed to be deep in thought. That expression of worry simply wouldn't leave his face. It was really starting to bother Vidia. Just what the hell was his problem? After a while though, he managed a small nod.

"Yes, I will do what you ask, Clarion." He said quietly.

"Very well, then." Clarion said, then turned back to Vidia. "Anything else you wish to know?"

Vidia thought, but her mind had gone blank. She was so preoccupied with thoughts of what she was about to do that she couldn't manage to think of anything else. She was sure she did have more questions, but whatever they were, she sure couldn't think of them now.

"I don't know." She said finally. "I can't exactly think straight right now." She managed a small giggle.

To her surprise, Clarion actually managed a small one as well. That must've been only the second time Clarion had had anything even remotely resembling an upbeat reation.

"Well, if you do have any more concerns as you go along, I'm sure Creed will be more than happy to help you." Clarion told her.

"I think I can manage that." Creed said in a grumble.

Vidia was now begining to feel new life breathed into her. She was still a bit terrified, there was no doubt about that. But there was also a sense of excitement breathed into her. It was definitely going to be hard to pretend to be evil, but at the same time it was also going to be a thrilling challenge. She wanted to get going as soon as possible, and that was when another question came to her head.

"When do I start?" She asked.

"In a few hours." Clarion said. "The sooner we get this out of the way, the sooner it will all be over."

And now Vidia felt that excitment that had been plagueing her for the past half-hour burst through her body like an explosion of confetti. Clarion could easily tell that she was getting restless.

"Take a few moments to prepare yourself. Maybe go back to your room and get a few more hours of sleep. I'll come for you myself when it's time." Clarion told her.

"Great, I'll do that." Vidia said.

"Very well, then. I'll see you in a while. You may both leave now." Clarion said.

The two got up and exited the room. Clarion watched them as they left. Her heart was full of as much nervousness and fear as Vidias. She figured that she best spend the next few hours practicing her growth reversal ability.

Meanwhile, Vidia and Creed were making their way down the hall to their respective rooms. As they walked, Vidia noticed that Creed still looked worried over somethng. Finally, she could bare it no more.

"Are you alright, Creed?" She asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He snapped irritably.

"Well sorry!" Vidia snapped back. "It's just that, for the past hour or so you've looked like you're about to faint!"

"So did you!" Creed shot at her.

"Well, yeah, at first I was!" Vidia said. "I though I was going to end up like that Jake guy or something! But this is different. I'm gonna be the one to kill Veronica and save all you guy's! I'm excited as hell now! Aren't you?"

Creed just sighed.

"Not exactly." He said curtly. "I'm chick full of another emotion right now."

"And what emotion would that be?" Vidia inquired.

"Worry." Creed said simply.

"Worry for what?" Vidia asked with a laugh.

"For you." Creed answered.

Vidia stopped right there and gave him an odd look. Why was he worried for her. She had clearly shown today that she could take care of herself. In fact, he probably wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for her. She wanted to ask him why he felt that way, but before she could, Creed took off again.

"I need to go now." He said shortly over his shoulder. "I'll make sure I see you before you leave."

Vidia just watched him walk off. It was an odd feeling that she was having for him. On one hand, she was happy to see that he seemed to like her as much as she liked him. But at the same time, that look on his face was pure, genuine fear for her. Even _she _didn't think she would've been able to feel that way about him if he were chosen to do what she was going to do. Still, she felt she should just shrug it off for now and get back to her room.

When she got there, she flopped down on her lumpy, old bed for the third and final time, and stared up at the ceiling. There was no way she would be getting any sleep at all in the next few hours. For in that space of time, she was about to begin her journey of making fairy history.


	10. The Cost For Victory

It had felt like an eternity since Vidia had first heard of her mission, when in reality it had only been a few hours. She hadn't moved an inch since she had plopped down on that lumpy bed of hers. The bed she knew she wouldn't have to put up with for much longer. She wondered just how much better the living conditions were going to be in her new home. Would it really matter, though? Would having a nicer bed to sleep in really make it worth having to do what she was sure she would have to do?

Part of her really didn't think so. Part of her was seriously dreading the upcoming events. But another part of her was so desperate and willing to help put an end to this that it was becoming unbearable for her to sit here and do nothing. She knew it was going to be hard. She was sure that Clarion had spared her some of the more grisly details of what her task would require. Actually, Clarion seemed to be keeping a lot of details from her (such as the whole disembowelment thing) and Vidia wasn't sure she liked that. She knew she was going to have to make her fighting with the Rebels look convincing, but what else would she have to do with them? Would she have to execute anu captured Rebels herself? Because she really didn't think she could manage that.

She had constantly been shifting between fear and anticipation for the past few hours, and now it was beginning to feel like fear was starting to take over. Her heart was pounding so hard that it was clearly audible. Then, a new thought came to her. Clarion had made it clear that they would have no reason to suspect her unless they had seen her earlier that day, but what if they had seen her? She wasn't completely aware of her surroundings when she had entered Fast-Flying mode. One of the soldiers could've possibly caught a brief glimpse of her before she sped off. She couldn't be entirely sure of that, but it seemed like a definite possibility.

Now Vidia was really starting to worry. She began to feel that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. She was starting to feel like bolting for the door and running off. Maybe she could get as far away from this place as possible, live her own peaceful life, not have to worry about war or violence ever again. Those thoughts were quickly dashed by the sudden knock that came at the door.

"Vidia?" Came Clarions voice from the other side.

Vidia sighed. It was too late now. Whether she liked it or not, she was about to take part in quite possibly the most important operation of this whole conflict. She tried to remind herslef of the good aspects of what it was she was doing. The better living conditions, the fact that it would all be worth it in the end whe she would be the one to finish Veronica, but her fear was still greater than her excitement at that moment.

She slowly rose from her bed, rubbing the sore post of her lower back as she did, and went to the door. She took a deep breath before slowly reaching for the handle and opening it. On the other side stood Clarion. She looked much more full of anticipation and fear than Vidia did, and Vidia had to admit that that irked her a bit. What did Clarion have to fear from all this? _She _wasn't the one putting her life on the line. Hell, Clarion had said that she, herself, was unable to even leave the camp since she was "too valuable" or something. The worst thing she would have to deal with if this whole thing failed would be the fact that she made an error in judgement. It probably wouldn't feel too good, but at least she would live to fight another day. The same couldn't exactly be said about Vidia.

"It's time." Clarion told her. "Are you ready?"

Vidia was unable to hide the fact that she was physically shaking, but she still tried to put on a brave face for Clarion.

"Yes, I think I am." She answered.

"Very well, then." Clarion said. "Follow me and we'll get this thing started."

Clarion took off down the hall, Vidia following at her side. Vidia looked around at her surroundings as she walked. She had barely had time to get used to them, and now she wouldn't be seeing them anymore.

"This is truly a heroic act you will be undertaking, Vidia." Clarion said as they walked. "You should be very proud."

"Mmhmm." Was all Vidia said in return.

Clarion could easily sense the fear beyond the brave look Vidia had given her. It was understandable. Having this kind of burden thrust upon her when she was barely a day old was something that no fairy should have to go through. In fact, when Clarion took a closer look at Vidias face, it was almost enough to break her heart. She saw such promise in this young fairy. The fact that she could perform her talent better than any other of her kind coiuld've led to great things for Pixie Hollow. If only things didn't have to be the way they were. But that was sadly not the case. Instead of making wind or collection pollen, Vidia would have to use her talents to aid her in something truly harrowing. It was sad, but it was the only way. The Rebels may never have another chance like this. Vidia would simply have to go through with it.

As the two continued walking, Clarion began to feel she should explain a few more things to Vidia. Maybe it would help her relax a bit if she knew a little more about what to expect.

"So here's how I expect this to go." She began. "Once I've reversed your growth, you should go into a sort of coma-like statis until you are oicked up and given life by the enemy. I don't believe this will cause you to lose your memory. When you come out of it, you should still be the same kind of person you are now. I see no reason for you to change your name for them unless you feel like it. I wouldn't recomend doing that though, as it may get confusing at times. Are you understanding me well enough?"

Vidia just nodded.

"Good. Now then, Once they've recieved you, they should take you to their highest in command. Normally that would be the Queen, but seeing how reclusive Veronica is, i suspect they will take you to General Irving. Have you heard of him?"

Vidia thought back to that crazed sparrow-man she had seen earlier that day. The thought of having to be in the same room as him, along with the fact that she would probably have to be repsectful to him, made Vidia shudder.

"Yeah, I've heaard of him, alright." Vidia mumbled.

"Okay then," Clarion said, noticing the dread in her voice. "He is indeed a truly cruel man, and chances are he will explain to you much of the same thing I have, except he will try to justify their atrocities and such. He will tell you that Veronica is the savior of fairy-kind and that we Rebels are the true enemy. No matter how rediculous it sounds you have to make it seem like you agree with him. Do you understand? That is very important. You need to make him believe he can trust you."

"Right." Vidia replied.

"Okay, now as I said earlier, they may ask for a demonstration of your talent. If you can fly as fast as I was told you did earlier today, then they may be impressed enough to recommend you for Veronica' army. Once your in, you'll just have to do whatever it takes to pass yourself off as one of them. I can't help you with that, I'm afraid. You'll just have to turst your instincts. That same thing goes for when you sneak out to report to Creed. You'll just have to adapt to your surroundings. Act as tough and cruel as they are. If you can do that, it'll get easier and easier, I'm sure of it."

Vidia exhaled loudly through her nose, Clarion took it as a sign that she had heard her. There was so much more she wished she could tell her, but in the end she decided that Vidia would be better off knowing only what she just told her now instead of being given a full on list of everything she would probably have to do with her new family. Knowing more than she did now would probably freak her out to the point where she didn't want to go through with it anymore. Did Clarion feel she was manipulating Vidia a bit? Sure, but at the same time she knew the ends would justify the means. No matter what Vidia would have to do, the freedom it meant for Pixie Hollow would make it all more than worht it. Besides, something deep inside Clarion told her that Vidia would most likely forgive her in the end. _Most likely,_ being the key phrase.

Soon, the two arrived at the wooden platform where new arrivals were brought in. Vidia looked around to see that most of the injured Rebels were gone now, though a few were still lying around, moaning as much as they had when she first saw them. She figured that the others that were now gone had either been healed and were now back in their room, or that they were... gone, and had been removed from the area.

Then, she noticed there was someone waiting for the two of them next to the plaform. It was Creed, and he look a tad bit calmer than he had in the past few hours. He even managed to give Vidia a small smile and nod, which Vidia barely managed to return. Something about him definitely helped her relax.

"Creed, what are you doing here?" Clarion asked as she approached him. "You know you don't need to be here for this since I've already given you your task. You should be resting now."

"I know, Clarion." Creed answered. "But I just wanted to be here to see Vidia off. I figure she could really use a friend right about now."

Now Vidia managed a slightly bigger smile. She seriously liked this guy. But Clarion still seemed a bit confused.

"Why do you feel the need to do that?" She asked. "You're going to be seeing her every night, after all."

Creed opened his mouth to answer, but Vidia spoke up first.

"I think it's very nice that he decided to come say goodbye, Clarion." She said wit a slight sneer. "It sure as hell makes me feel better, if that's any comfort to you."

Clarion sighed.

"That's quite alright, Vidia. I was merely being curious." She said.

Vidia rolled her eyes and stepped up to Creed. He extended his hand, and she took it. They didn't shake, though. They just held each others hands firmly.

"How are you feeling?" He asked gently.

"To be honest, Creed, I'm scared." Vidia answered. "Actually, make that downright terrified."

Creed squeezed her hand tighter. His grip was so comforting to her.

"You know," He said. "I am truly in awe of you right now. I admit I was a bit nervous about this whole thing at first. But you should know that Clarion and I go way back. I mean, we arrived very close together. I think she's only about a month older, but we've pretty much known each other our whole lives. And when I saw just how confident she looked over this whole plan, I mean... I've haven't seen her look that hopeful in decades. I think she really believes in you, and so do I."

Creed had no idea just how much it was meaning to Vidia to hear these words. She took his other hand in hers, and the two just stood there, staring deeply into each other. Once again, Creed found himself unable to tear his gaze from her deep, dark eyes. They were so intoxicating. He had never seen anything like them. For that brief moment, he wanted to be sucked into them, he wanted to drown in them, he wanted their image burned into his memory forever.

"Creed?" Vidias voice snapped him out of his trance. "I said thank you, Creed. I feel so much better now. You've been such a good friend."

"Oh, um, You're welcome, Vidia." Creed replied.

"I look forward to seeing you every night." Vidia said. "It'll definitely make this whole thing much less nightmarish."

"Indeed it will." Creed said with a small grin. At that moment, he suddenly felt a need to tell her something. Pass on a bit of advice he held close to his own heart, that he felt would serve her well. Maybe give her a bit of insight into his own value system, as well. "Before you go, may I please give you a bit of advice?"

"Yes, of course." Vidia answered sincerely. "I'd love to hear what you have to say."

Creed sighed and cleared his throat. He debated for a brief moment if this was truly something she needed to hear now, but in the end decided it was best she found out this way instead of... some other way.

"If there's one thing I've learned that I believe in the most," He began. "It's that we must play by the rules of the life we choose to lead. We may be able to choose what kind of life we live, but we can't choose the rules we want to follow."

Vidia stared at him a bit awkwardly after that statement. She wasn't exactly sure she knew what it meant, nor did she know why Creed seemed to feel the need to tell it to her. It didn't seem like it would help her much on her journey. Maybe it would make sense to her in time, but it definitely didn't now. Still, Vidia managed to give him as grateful a look as she could.

"I'll try to remember that, Creed." She said assuringly. "Thank you."

Creed nodded, and the two slowly released each others hands. But before Vidia could turn away, Creed leaned in close to her, as if he wanted to whisper something without Clarion hearing.

"I'll tell Mraco and Violet about this whole thing." He said quietly. "Hopefully they don't come across you while you're with the enemy. Maybe I can get them to tag along with me on some nights. You can share your knowledge with them as well. We just have to make sure Clarion doesn't find out. She wanted this to be kept strictly between us three."

Vidia cringed a bit when she heard that. Not about getting to see Marco and Violet once a in while, though. She was quite happy to hear about that. But the fact that she might come across them while she was pretending to be the enemy. She hadn't thought of that. She hoped with all her might that she wouldn't be forced to do the unthinkable to them. It would be too much for her to bear.

"That... sounds good." Vidia said a bit shakily.

Creed sensed the shakiness in her voice, and knew exactly why it was there. He wanted to reassure her that there was a low chance that she would actually engage in combat with the two, considering how large both armies were. But Clarion had just given him a slightly impatient look, and he knew he had to end the conversation there. He turned back to Vidia and gave her the most encouraging look he could muster.

"Good luck, Vidia." He said.

Vidia managed a weak smile and turned away from him. She walked over to Clarion, who guided her to the center of the platform.

"Kneel down please." Clarion instructed her.

Vidia did just that. She looked up at Clarion, who looked a bit nervous herself. Vidia couldn't help but wonder if Clarion truly knew what she was doing.

"Is this going to hurt?" Vidia asked a bit sheepishly.

"To tell you the truth, Vidia, I really don't know." Clarion replied. "I've never done this to a fairy before. I've only tried it on a few flowers, turning them from their full bloom back into seed form. It never went wrong during any of those attempts, though, so I have no reason to believe it will go wrong here."

"Oh, well that makes me feel lot's better." Vidia said sarcastically.

Clarion ignored her though. She had her eyes closed now, and she appeared to be whispering to herself some sort of gibberish. Vidia took this time to have one last look around the Rebel camp. Chances are she wouldn't be seeing it ever again. Though earlier that day it had been a nightmarish scene, it now felt so much more warm and comforting than it ever had before. She turned to look at Creed one last time, and he gave her a small smile and wink, though the look of worry that had been on his face earlier that night had come back a bit. Then, off in the distance, she noticed Marco sitting at the foot of a small cot which contained a comatose Violet. He was looking down at her with deep concern.

"Alright then," Came Clarions voice, snapping Vidias attention back to her. "It's time."

She looked down at Vidia with a mixture of pride and severity. A look that made Vidias blood freeze. This was it.

"I have one last thing to say to you before you go." Clarion began. "I know what it is that lies ahead of you. You will be forced to do things that no one with even a shred of decency in them would ever even think of doing. This whole conflict as cost many innocent lives over the course of the century. And what you will do will lead to the cost of even more innocents their lives. It may also very well cost you a piece of your soul. But know this, Vidia: In the end... it will cost nothing... absolutely nothing... compared to everything you will save by doing this."

And that profound statement was enough to ease Vidia for now. Indeed it would be an ugly next few months, but it would all be worth it in the end.

"I'm ready." Was all Vidia could say.

Clarion nodded and placed her hand of Vidias forehead.

"May Mother Dove be with you." She whispered.

Vidia closed her eyes and prepared herself. After a moment of silence, she heard the gibberish Clarion had been whispering moments ago. Only now it was being said out loud and clear. It was some sort of strange language that Vidia couldn't even begin to understand. For a brief moment she wanted to open her eyes, but soon found that she couldn't. Some invisivle force was holding her eyes shut. Then, it became obvious to her; she didn't have eyes anymore. They had disappeared. She wanted to open her mouth to scream, but she couldn't do that either. Her mouth was also gone.

She soon felt her nose close itself up and disappear into what was left of her face, and now she could no longer breathe. She could still hear Clarion reciting that starnge language, but now it sounded a little more muffled. But that was the least of her worries, for now she felt her arms and legs beign forced into odd angles, as if they were being pulled by some invisible hand. It started off as mild discomfort, but soon escaleted into full blown pain when she felt the bones in her arms snap. She wanted to scream so loudly, but remembered that she had no mouth. She need air, she needed to breathe! She was suffocating! Couldn't Clarion tell that she was in pain?

But before it the pain became to unbearable, it disaperated completely. In fact she could no longer feel her arms at all. They were gone. She felt a small wave of relief until she felt her legs break, and that pain was even worse. Now she couldn't even hear what was happening around her. Her ears were gone. For that brief moment, she hated Clarion. She wanted to strangle her, beat her, stab her, transfer all hr pain to her. How could she have put her through something like this? Why did it have to be her? But just as the pain in her arms had left her, the pain in her legs left just as quickly, along with the feeling that she had legs at all.

Now, she didn't even feel the need for air. She began to feel much more relaxed. And soon, conscious thought left her completely. It was as if she had just fallen into a dreamless sleep. For that one moment, and quite possibly for the last moment of her entire life, Vidia felt at peace.


	11. Born Again Evil

The sounds of muffled voices were the first thing Vidia heard after what felt like only a few seconds of total blackness and silence. It was rather a disapointing feeling, actually. For those few seconds, it had been total bliss. She had been free of the troubles of the world around her. Deep down she had hoped that she would never have to wake up again. She had actually hoped that she had somehow been killed during the reverse growth, and that she would now be at peaace for all eternity.

But the voices around her were becoming more and more pronounced. It was starting to become easy to make out what they were saying. Vidia mostly heard stuff like "Is it an Animal-Talent?" and "50 smidges of Dust says it's a Scout." The rest remained unitelligible.

During the whole time she was out, Vidia had never lost her awareness of what it was she was doing. She had always remembered that her goal was to infiltrate the enemies ranks, become one with them, and then kill there Queen. She thought it would be much more like a coma state or something along those line, and when she came out of it, her memories would slowly come back to her. But she had always retained a bit of consiousness during her journey. It had still been relaxing and all, but she thought she would've been out cold for it. She supposed it was better this way, though. Now she didn't have to try and remember at all. That part was taken care of.\

Then, Vidia could feel her arms a legs beginning to expand from her, and a wave of terror swept over her. She had crealy broken all her limbs when she was being reversed. Would they still be broken when the grew back? As she began to feel her arms and legs take form, her terror melted away. They felt fine. Better than ever as a matter of fact. They felt stronger, more limber. It was as if she had been made more powerful by this whole process. Maybe she would look different too. She supposed that wold be a bit of a long shot though. She wasn't being reconstructed, after all. She was being reborn.

'_Born again evil.' _She thought to herself.

Shortly later, she felt her wings push through her back. They felt stronger as well. Maybe she would be able to fly even faster now. Then, she felt her mouth take form, and her nose and ears expanding from her. She opened her mouth and sucked in her first batch of fresh air. She felt two hole form in her nose. She sniffed the air, which was musty and stale. She was definitely indoors. Most likely she was in the Home Tree. Then, she felt her eyes bulge though her skull. She felt her hair flowing down from the back of her head, down past her mid-section to the ground. She could feel the soft floor beneath her. It was significantly more comfortable than the hard wooden platform that the Rebels had. She supposed that was good enough thing to keep her going... for now.

Soon, she felt completely formed. Every inch of her body ahd been recreated. Now, it was time to open her eyes. What was she going to see? Just how horriffic would things look here? Her eyelids slowly parted and the first thing she saw was a blur. It was just like the first time she was born. It would take a few seconds for her eyes to adjust. As the blur began to fade, she noticed several tall, imposing figures standing around her. They all seemed to be wearing black. They were obviously gaurds and soldiers. Vidia could still barely make them out and they were already very intimidating.

The blur cleared more and more, and soon she was able to see as well as she possibly could. She looked around the room, knowing that she had to try and pass herself off as curious, and at the same time full of wonder and amazement. She had to act like she had no idea what was going on or who these fairies were,like she had during her first birth. She tried to force a smile, but she felt it came out more as a herpa-derp smile than a full of excitement smile.

One of the guards stepped forward, and Vidia turned to look at her. The guard looked down at Vidia with a stern scrutinizing expression, as if she were trying to figure her out. Vidia glanced around at the other guards, and they were all giving her similar looks. She figured they were probably wondering if she was an Animal Talent, so they could enjoy themselves as they murdered her. They seemed to take pleasure in those kinds of acts, and that idea gave Vidia a chill that ran down her spine, which no longer had the aches and pains that her bed back at the Rebel camp had given her. It was like she had a new one.

Then Vidia took a glance around at her new home, and she had some serious trouble believing what she was seeing. She was in a very elegant, very large hollowed out area of the massive Home Tree. It was well lit and had beautiful decorations carved into the wood. They almost appeared to be as old as the Tree itself. Vidia had hlaf expected this place to be as gloomy and depressing as the rest of Pixie Hollow. She thought these fairies were the kind that liked creepy gothic settings, or anything else along those lines. But what she was seeing was not only beautiful, but relaxing as well. It set her mind at ease, and made her feel more comfortable. Maybe this wouldn't be as emotionally taxing as she thought it would be. With a nice setting like this, it was kind of hard to feel depressed. Vidia was so mesmerized by her surrounding that she didn't hear the guard, who had been asking for her name for the past half-minute.

"NAME!" She eventually had to shout, and it was enough to make Vidia jump a bit.

"What? Oh, um, name..." Vidia stuttered.

"Search your mind!" The guard snapped at her.

Vidia thought for a moment. Clarion had told her that she didn't need to change her name, but at the same time, it seemed like a pretty good idea. If she wanted to be called something different for the rest of her life, now was the time to make sure that could happen. She must've been the first fairy that ever got the oppertunity to do this kind of thing. But truthfully, she quite liked the name "Vidia." Something about it just really clicked with her. It sounded like the perfect name for the fastest fairy who ever lived. She would stick with it.

"Viida. My name's Vidia." She answered after a while.

"Talent?" The gaurd asked in her highly irritable voice.

"Fast-Flyer." Vidia answered instantly.

Some mumbling came from the gaurds surrounding her, who numbered more in the hundreds. Some of it was hard to make out, but Vidia could easily hear some disgruntled groans in the crowd. Probably angry that she wasn't an Animal Talent. But a majority of the mumbling sounded much more intrigued than angered. As if they were impressed by thee fact that they had a Fast-Flyer.

The guard looked over Vidia a bit longer. She still appeared to be evaluating her. After a few minutes, she spoke again.

"Stand." She oredered sternly.

Vidia slowly rose to her feet. Her legs didn't feel as wobbly as they had during her first birth, but she tried to pretend that they were. She didn't want to take any chances of arousing too much suspicion. The gaurd didn't even bother to exdtend a hand to help her up.

"Turn around." The gaurd ordered once Vidia was stable.

Vidia did as she was told. She felt the gaurd grab her wings and give them a slight tug. She felt as though she were testing them, looking them over. Vidia hoped that would be the _only _part of her body that this fairy would be "testing."

After a few more tugs, the guard grabbed Vidia by the shoulders and forcefully spun her around. She continued to look over her new arrival, eyeing her up and down. Vidia glanced around at the other guards and soldiers, who were all watching with slightly amused expressions. Vidia couldn't help but feel a tad embarassed by all this. Honestly, did all new arrivals have to put up with this? It was almost insulting! And the fact that this had to be done in the presence of a large group, the majority of which were made up of sparrow-men, made it even worse! Vidia swore that the second she heard any cat calls or hooting from the crowd, she was gonna lose it and massacre every last one of them!

Eventually, though, the gaurd turned from her and walked away.

"Follow me." She said over her shoulder.

Vidia followed. The crowd parted for them as they made there way out of the area. Vidia gauged their expressions, and they were all giving her the same looks that they had been since she first opened her eyes: curiosity and confusion, or, at least she thought it was confusion. They somehow seemed perplexed about something, but it was impossible to tell why.

Once they were clear of the crowd, the guard flittered her wings and was airborne. Vidia was worried for a moment that she would not be able to follow since she had just been born, and her wings might not be ready for flight just yet. But surprisingly when she flittered her wings, she was instantly in the air. Maybe the guard tugging on them earlier was what gave the ability to fly so soon.

Vidia followed the guard up through the brightly lit branches of the Home Tree, ducking and weaving them as she went. Behind them a few more guards followed, probably as curious to see what was going to happen as Vidia was. They soon reached their destination: a large branch which seemed to be in the upper echelons on the Tree. When Vidia landed next to the guard, her breath was nearly taken away but what she saw. The view of Pixie Hollow along with the raging storm above it was among the most awe-inspiring things she had ever seen.

Pixie Hollow, though it was dark and gloomy looking, stretched farther than she thought she could see. She could easily make out all the different villages and living areas that made it up. There seemed to be hundreds of them, most likely one for each talent guild. It made Vidia wonder just how many different talents there were in the fairy world.

She wasn't able to enjoy the view for long though, because her attention was quickly snapped back to the guard, who had stepped up in front of her and forced her to make eye contact.

"Your name's Vidia and you're a Fast-Flyer. Is that correct?" The guard asked.

Vidia couldn't find her voice. A slight wave of painc rose in her. What if they _had _seen her when she was escaping Tinkers Nook, and now they were going to throw her off the tree or something. Hesitently though, she nodded, praying that she hadn't just sealed her doom. The guard simply nodded back and began to pace in front of her.

"Welcome to Pixie Hollow then, Vidia." She said. "My name's Maria."

She didn't pronounce it as 'muh-re-ah' though. It was 'mar-ey-ah', like Mario, but with an 'ah' at the end. She didn't give Vidia a chance to say anything though as she continued speaking.

"I take it you were expecting to be taken to a nice little home and use your talent to make the seasons come and go and live a happy care-free fairy life or something, am I right?"

Vidia, knowing she had to play her part convincingly, gave a sheepish smile and nod. Maria gave her a disgusted look in return.

"Well I've got news for you, Vidia," She said nastily. "I'm afraid you've managed to arrive at a very dark time for our beloved home. These tasks of changing the seasons are simply not an option at the moment. In fact, it's been centuries since we've changed the seasons over on the Mainland, though the mainlanders don't seem to care much considering they're having similar problems over there. I'd explain to you what the Mainland is, but it's not important. What _is _important is what's happening here. Unfortunately, I'm not really the right person to be explaining it to you due to the fact that I haven't been here too long, myself. There is someone here who could explain better than I can, but before I take you to him, I want to see just what you're capable of."

"Oh-okay." Vidia said a bit shakily.

She did feel much more relieved though. Apparently they hadn't seen her before, so she could now rest easy in that thought. Maria pointed out into a random direction over Pixie Hollow.

"You say you're a Fast-Flyer? Well now we want to see just how fast you are." She said. "You're going to fly out to that tall elm tree at the edge of Winter Woods there. Do you see it? Good. Now as I was saying, you're gointo fly to that tree and back here as fast as you can. understand?"

Vidia stared out at the area Maria was pointing at. She could barely make out an elm tree that appeared to be taller than the others. It was covered in snow, so Vidia assumed that she definitely looking towards this Winter Woods place. She didn't know if it was exactly where she was pointing, but it seemed to be in the general area, so she figured she'd make that her destination.

"Um, alright then." Vidia said nervously.

She moved into position at the edge of the branch and prepared to take off. But before she could, Maria grabbed her arm and pulled her towards her.

"You seem rather nervous. Is there a reason why?" She asked cooly.

"Oh, it's just uh... I wasn't exactly expecting this." Vidia answered, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

Maria gave an angry sigh when she heard this.

"We get that same story from every new arrival, and to be honest, I'm getting sick of it!" She groaned. "You have nothing to fear at this moment! Just do what I say, when I say it and we can get this over with!"

"Alright! Alright!" Vidia shouted back.

A collection of gasps came from behind her after her small outburst. the group of guards that had followed them seemed quite shocked by what she had just done. Maria had a look on her face that gave Vidia chills, but it wasn't enough to completely dispell the annoyance that was still inside her.

"You would do well to watch your tone when you talk to me, Vidia," She hissed. "You have no idea of the things I'm capable of, what the others here are capable of. Until we know how much you will come in handy to us, you, my dear, are our bitch. NOW DO WHAT I SAID!"

Vidia could barely contain the urge to knock this fairies jaw off. If there was one thing she WAS NOT going to put up with while she was here, it was being treated like this. Still, she managed to control her emotions by telling herself that they would all pay dearly in due time. She at least managed to give Maria a defient look before she turned back to the edge of the branch, and when she saw the beautiful view again, she instantly forgot the whole nasty affair.

Vidia took a few breaths before she took off. Now she would find out for she if she was any faster than she was in her first life, and it was her chance to try and earn a place in their army. She sucked in one last breath of air and took off.

She had to keep her eyes open for this flight as she needed to see where she was going. But that was proving to be impossible. The wind was pushing against her face so hard that it was forcing her eyelids shut. She had to stop so she could find out where she was. She managed to, and when she saw where she was, her heart lept. She was all the way down by the coast again. She had completely overshot her destination, and she had only been flying for about five seconds. She had to have been about at least twenty times faster than she had been before. Now there was no doubt that she indeed the fastest fairy who had ever existed. She turned herslef back in the direction she had come and took off again. She counted to five in her head and stopped. By pure luck, she was right next to the Home Tree branch that she had taken off from.

She landed and took a moment to gauge the reactions of the guards. It was almost comical. They were staring at her slack-jawed and bug-eyed. A lot of them had had their helmets blown off and their hair was all unkempt. She gave them all a satisfied smile before turning to Maria. Though her expression wasn't quite as over the top, she still looked genuinely impressed, and even managed to give Vidia a small smile in return.

"I think we may have lucked out with you, Vidia." She said. "Now, if you'll come with me, we can get you properly aquainted with our little land mass. Her Highness will definitely want to know about you as well, an I'll see to it that she does."

Maria took off for the lower section of the Tree, and Vidia followed. As they moved through the large crowd of guards and soldiers that had followed them, she could easily make out some of their ramblings.

"Fastest thing I'd ever seen!"

"A flash! Thats all I saw! A flash!"

"Those Rebels are in for it now!"

Vidia could barely contain her smugness. But it was short-lived. She reminded herself that these people were evil, and that she didn't want to take their opinions of her to heart. She was going to end them, after all. Sure she would have to pretend to be them, but she wouldn't lose herself to them.

_'Born again evil.' _She thought to herself again.

Creed's last words to her echoed through her mind as she continued onwards. Playing by the rules of the life one chose to lead. She was about to break those rules. Even though it wouldn't be for real, it would only be an act, it still got to her.


	12. A New Perspective

Maria led Vidia deep into Home Tree, which was becoming darker and more foreboding the furthur they went. Vidia half expected to bump into Veronica at some point. She couldn't get the idea out of her head that she was lurking somewhere in the shadows of the hallway. Vidia had been attempting to create a mental picture of the evil tyrant since she had first heard about her. The image that came to her head the most often was of a snake-like demon lady with fangs, bat wings, red glowing eyes and fangs with poison dripping from them.

Vidia was so lost in her nightmarish thoughts that she didn't realize she was lagging behind Maria. When Maria noticed this, she spun around and snapped at her newest charge.

"Keep up, will you! Didn't you'd ever have to be told that after what you just showed us!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry." Vidia mumbled.

Maria sighed and rolled her eyes. She hated being made to feel like she was the babysitter for new arrivals. It wasn't her place, yet she was constantly being asked to undertake it. She personally loved being out in the field, keeping order amongst the populace with her own special brands of discipline.

Maria was the head of Veronica's Special Scouts Force. They acted as a sort of police force for Pixie Hollow. While guards were tasked with protecting the Queen, and soldiers were used for militeristic measures, the Special Scouts had the job of keeping peace order throughout the many small villages that made up Pixie Hollow. Doing this usually involved brutal tactics such as beatings and such. They were also tasked with managing the massive prison that was located in the deepest, darkest recesses of the Home Tree. Maria herself was particularly skilled with torture, both physical and mental. Not only could she break your legs, but she could break your spirits as well; make you feel as though you there was no hope left as she whipped and beat you. It was a skill she was quite proud of.

Vidia continued to follow her new "friend" deeper into the darkness. There was no telling how far into the Home Tree they were now. Vidia felt as though she would never see light again. She even had a brief yet chilling thought that they knew she was a spy and were leading her to her death now. At any moment she could take a face full of arrows. It was enough to make her visibly shudder.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Maria had stopped in front of her. Vidia collided solidly into her back, cuasing her to spin around and snap angrily at her."

"ARE YOU BLIND, YOU IDIOT? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"I-I'm sorry," Vidia apoligized frentically. "It's just so dark down here, and I could barely see you."

Maria sighed and pushed Vidia off her.

"If you weren't so talented I'd have gutted you right here and now!" She spat. "But," her voice lowered a bit. "Seeing as you're one of the fastest fairies we've possibly ever seen, I'm going to let General Irving decide what he wants to do with you. He is the Commander and Chief of Her Grand Royal Highness Queen Veronica'a army. Yes, you heard me right, we have an army, and we are currently engaged in deadly conflict. But like I said earlier, he can explain better than I can. So, I want you to enter through this door here," She pointed to a wooden door similar to Clarion's back at the Rebel camp, though this door had two guards stationed on both sides of it. "And he will fill you in on everything. He should be expecting you since we alerted him when we picked up you laugh coming in."

"O-okay." Vidia said nervously.

She made for the door, but Maria stopped her agian.

"Let me warn though, Vidia." She said menaceingly. "General Irving is not a sparrow-man to trifle with. I may have put up with your clumsiness, but he won't. You will speak to him only when spoken to, and you will answer his questions with a 'yes sir' or 'no sir'. Anything more or less than that is unacceptable and will not go unpunished. Do you understand?"

Vidia couldn't find her voice. She felt seconds away from passing out from fear. She managed to give a weak nod, which she hoped Maria could see through the darkness. To Vidias relief, Maria seemed to have a content look in her eyes, which pierced through the blackness. She stepped aside and ushered Vidia into the room. The two guards on the side sniggered a bit as Vidia walked passed them.

"New meat." One of them mumbled to the other, getting a nasty laugh from him.

Once Vidia crossed the threshold, she had to shield her eyes with her arm. It went form being gloomy and dark to luminously bright in an instant. When her eyes adjusted, she found herself in a beautifully decorated room with golden Pixie Dust shimmering on the walls. There were arrays of large, beautifully shining weapons such as swords and spears. At the center of it all was the bulky General himself, sitting behind a large desk, simmilar to Clarions, but much more elegant. He wore a slight smile on his face as Vidia approached him.

Maria stepped ahead of Vidia and went up to Irving first. She whispered something intelligible into his ear. He nodded as he listened. Then Maria stepped away and made for the exit, shooting Vidia one last stern look as she passed. Vidia heard the door click behind her, and she knew now that she was alone with him.

Vidia looked him over briefly. Just earlier that day she had seen the sparrow-man brutally gut an innocent fairy. He had look almost animal like at that time; a crazed look in his eyes and raw fury in his voice. But now he looked quite elegant and proper, dashing even. And when he opened his mouth to speak for the first time, his voice was mellow and almost soothing.

"Please sit." He offered, gesturing to soft, padded chair in front of his desk.

Vidia briskly sat herself down in the chair, which was so much more comfortable than the one Clarion had offered her.

By this point Vidia was having some serious deja vu. Everything was happening very simmilarly to her first arrival. The only differences were that the conditions were nicer and the fairies were meaner. It was like going through the looking glass, everything was opposite. Still, Vidia felt her fear disaperating significantly now. She was sure that if they had known what she was up to, they would've killed her by now. So far so good.

"Your name is Vidia?" Irving asked after a moment of silence. "And you are a Fast-Flyer?"

"Y-yes, sir." Vidia answered quickly. She couldn't control the quiver in her voice.

"Calm yourself, child. You're in no danger here." Irving said reasurringly. "I understand you probably weren't expecting this, but I will make it all clear to you."

Vidia just nodded. She couldn't get the thought out of her head of how a room as bright as this could exist in such a dark part of the Home Tree. It was nagging her brain frome the moment she stepped in there. Irving voice snapped her back to attention.

"I suppose Captain Maria filled you in a bit on who I am, but I feel I should introduce myself properly. I am General Irving, Commander and Chief of Her Majesties Royal Army and the hisgest ranking fairy in Pixie Hollow, second only to our beloved Queen Veronica."

Vidia nodded again to show that she had understood.

"You have arrived a dark time for Pixie Hollow, my dear." Irving continued. "Our land, our beautiful Pixie Hollow... she is pain, terrible pain. Our glorious army is engaged in a deadly conflict against an insidious enemy; an enemy that seeks to destroy everything we sought to create. It is a truly devastating event, it has lasted for centuries, and it shows no signs of ending any time soon. Are you familiar with the early years of Pixie Hollow?"

Vidia almost said yes, but she thought that would be too suspicious. After all as far as they knew, she had only been alive for at least an hour.

"No, sir." She answered.

"Ah, I figured as much." Irving said understandingly. "Then allow me to fill you in..."

What transpired for the next several minutes was basically the same story Vidia had heard from Clarion, only with a few small changes in tone. For one thing, Irving had certainly used more "colorful" language to describe Queen Gisselle, the Animal Talent who had neglected her fellow fairies in favor of her animal friends. And when he got around to describing Veroinicas rise to power, he spoke of her much more as a Godess-like heroine than Clarion had.

"She delivered us from the brink of extinction." Irving said grandly. "You should have heard her rally us during our uprising against that despicable Animal Talent. More powerful words were never spoken. Queen Veronica single-handedly saved this land! When she assumed Her rightful place as Queen, it seemed as though our beloved Pixie Hollow would at last have the peace we so desperately craved. But in order to make sure something like Gisselle would never happen again, extreme measures had to be taken."

_'Oh, here we go.' _Vidia thought to herself.

Now he was going to try and justify the genocide that was commited against possible tens of thousands of innocent Animal Talents. This was the part of the story that Vidia was looking forward to hearing agian the least.

"So," Irving continued. " Our beloved Queen, to whome we owe everything we have to, took it upon Herself to... 'remove' all Animals Talents from the equation. It wasn't going to be pretty, but it had to be done. We couldn't risk another dark age like Gisselle's."

Vidia seriously doubted that Irivng really felt that it was a chore for them to do what they did. After what she had seen from him in Tinkers Nook, she knew he had to have thoroughly enjoyed the slaughter of innocents.

"We had initially hoped to keep it quiet," Irving said. "We believed it might've come as a bit of a shock the local populace. But we had also hoped that they would know that what we did, we did for their own good; the good of all Pixie Hollow." He paused for a moment to let Vidia soak it all in. "But unfortunately, when they discovered our plot... they turned on us. We, who had given them their lives back, given them a reason to live again, were now being called the enemy! They called us monsters, they said they were better off with Gisselle -curse the baby that gave her life- and that they would not stand for our 'atrocities.' They formed a rebellion, instilled a Light Talent they call Clarion as their leader, and have sought to destroy everything we worked so hard to create."

Vidia just exhaled lightly. This story was getting harder and harder to listen to. but she still tried to keep an expression of fascination on her face. She had to play her part convincingly. Irving continued his rant.

"Do you want to know what the real atrocity is, Vidia? _Them. _They, the Rebels, are the true evil of this land! They are like spoiled rotten children! Ungrateful basterds! We gave them everything, and it still wasn't enough. They don't approve of our methods, but do they have a better way? They sent any Animal Talents they could to the Mainland, to hide them from us. Now they'll die slowly of old age rather than quickly by our arrows. Now, rather than risk the chance of any of them sneaking back here without our notice, Her Highness has taken it upon herself to create a massive unyielding storm, blocking access to and from the Mainland. We don't know how many were sent there, but it seems likely that it could be a few hundred years before they all die off over there. It seems quite possible that the storm may never end. It may be Her Highness's wish to leave it as it is forever."

That statement gave Vidia a slightly sick feeling in her stomach. Was she going to have to live with Pixie Hollow looking like this for her whole life? Was what she believed would be a beautiful and brightly lit land going to be dark and gloomy for all eternity? And what really bothered her: would she never get to see this Mainland that she had heard so much about?

"It is a shame." Irivng said grimly. "A terrible shame. This Rebellion has become a disease, a disease that has taken hold of a massive portion of the population. We do what we can to keep order and deter those who would think to join them. We try to remind them who it was who rescued them from the brink of annihilation, but the Rebels continue to thrive. Though they don't quite posses the same skills at combat that wee have been blessed with, they have still proven to be formidible opponents.

"Do you know that under normal circumstances, the second you arrrived you would've been greeted by the Queen Herself? But unfortunately, the threat that Rebels posed have forced us to take extreme precautionary measures of protecting Her. She is unable to ever leave Her chambers, not even for the smallest of reasons. It may seem extreme, but it is the only way. Why, just one night ago an attempt was made on her precious life! She was well protected, of course, and the attempt failed, the fact that they made it this far into the Home Tree worries me. They are becoming bolder and bolder in their moves every day, using spys and whatnot."

Vidia shuddered at the word "Spys."

"What makes them truly dangerous is their ability to blend with their surroundings. They don't seem to have any official uniform, though we have noticed a sort of green battle fatigue that they seem to wear at time, but for the most part they use deception and stealth to hit us. They call it cunning, I call it cowardice!" He was beginning to sound hysterical. "They hide in plain sight, mocking us, making us confuse them for innocent civilians! It's monstrous what they do; and yet they still lable _us _as the monsters! Cowardly, traitorous bastards, the lot of 'em! WELL I WON'T STAND FOR IT ANY LONGER!"

He slammed his fist on the table at the end of that outburst, causing the whole room to shake and Vidia to reel back. She no longer felt safe being alone in this room with this sparrow-man. He was clearly not right in the head.

Irving breathed heavily for a moment before regaining his composure. He wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow and leaned back in his chair.

"As I said before," He said just above a whisper. "It is a disease, for which there is one cure: death. We must destroy this Rebellion that has plagued us for so long. We know nothing of where they are operating from or just how large their numbers are. Our main strategy at this point has been relatively simple: wait for them to expose themselves where they do... and kill them. They do this by attacking our caravans on a regular basis. We simply wait for them to do so and fight them off. It has become such a habit for them that we've been sending out phoney supply carvans specifically used for drawing them into a fight.

"For the most part, we manage to hold them off, but sometimes we suffer significant losses, as well damage or loss of our precious supplies. Until we discover the source of this Rebel infestaion, I am afraid we cannot do more than simply wait for them to come to us. But, now that you're here..."

Irving stopped there for a moment. He eyed Vidia up and down. Vidia had to do all she could to not show her fear. She remained straight-backed and firm in her chair, her expression attentive.

"I was told by Maria that you flew at a speed beyond what many Fast-Flyers have ever reached. Is this true?" Irving asked.

"Y-yes, sir." Vidia answered. She hadn't spoke for so long, so her voice shook a bit. She had almost forgotten the sound of it.

Irving soon wore a creepy grin on his face, a grin that gave Vidia chills.

"I think we may find a few good uses for you, dear Vidia." He said in a chilling tone. "With speed as fast as you seem to have, you could definitely come in handy for various reasons. You could get to a battle quicker than most, you could be used to send important messages or warn of incoming attacks. So many possibilities. But first, I must ask something of you."

"Yes, sir?" Vidia said, feigning eagerness.

"From what I have told you," Irving began. "With what you now know... do you swear your eternal loyalty to us, to our cause, and to our beloved Queen? Do you swear that you will use your skills to the best of your ability to serve Her and our glorious army? And do you swear that you will not rest until Pixie Hollow is once again and forever more at peace?"

Vidia thought for a moment. This was some heavy stuff. Clarion hadn't made her take any oaths or swear aligence to her. A disturbing thought came to her head. Did this mean that her true loyalty should in fact be with Veronica if she was going to swear it to her?

_'No, of course not.' _Vidia thought to herself. _'I have free will no matter what, don't I? Then I choose for my aligence to be with the Rebels, and part of that aligence means faking loyalty to the enemy. It'll mean nothing if I say yes.'_

"Yes, sir." Vidia answered eventually. "I swear my loyalty to and and to Her Highness."

Irivng clapped his hands once.

"Well said, my dear! Well said!" He exclaimed jovially. "Now then, it is rather late." He yawned. "So I'll give you a quick rundown of what I want you to do for now. I'll have Maria take you to your current living space, which will be the barracks for now. Maybe something better will open up in the future... depending on just how well you show your loyalty to us.

"Anyway, tomorrow, I will personally take you on a quick tour of Pixie Hollow, show you around a bit, give you a feel of the area and what have you. Perhaps we can get to know a little more about you as well; discover just where you will fit in to all of this. You'll need combat training, of course, as well as some of our armor, and perhaps a more areodynamic outfit. Oh, I normally don't get this estatic over a new arrival, but I have a special feeling about you, dear one, I think you will do truly great things for Her Highness's Grand Army."

He then gave Vidia a look that almost made her gag. It was a look similar to what she had noticed Creed had given once in a while. It was almost a look of longing and admiration. But where Creed's gentle stare made her feel safe and warm, Irving's made her feel dirty and cold.

"CAPTAIN MARIA!" Irving roared suddenly, making Vidia jump.

Seconds later, Maria rushed into the room and stood at attention.

"Yes, General?" She stated promptly, though she seemd to be hiding a bit of annoyance.

"Take Vidia to her quarters" Irving ordered. "Then prepare yourself for an early patol tomorrow. You'll be joining Vidia and I for a little tour of the surrounding area."

Maria could barely hide the look of disgust on her face. Irving seemed to notice it, and he also didn't seem to care.

"Very well then, _Irving." _She said cooly.

Irving just laughed. He so enjoyed seeing Maria annoyed. He then turned back to Vidia.

"You're dismissed, Vidia." He said airily. "Sleep well, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." Vidia replied before having her arm grabbed by Maria and yanked towards the door.

"Come on, you." Maria said irritably.

The two left the room, the door clicking shut behind them. Irving stood alone in the brightness of his room, a wide smile stretching accross his rugged face. Oh, he had plans for Vidia alright. For the first time in decades, victory felt within his grasp.

**Apologies for the wait. It's coming up on finals week, and my studies have to come first! Next chapter may or may not take a while. Depends on how much free time I have. It will get done though. Thanks again for your patience!**


	13. The Second Tour

The barracks were located in the large dug-out area at the rear of the Home Tree. In the distant future, this area would be the location of the massive stadium that would host the Pixie Hollow Games. At the present time, though, it served a much darker purpose: it was the living space for Veronica's evil army. The area was made up of several hundred long, gray brick buildings all lined up in a row. At human scale, they would be at least four feet long. For fairies, they seemed to go on for at least a mile.

There were at least five hundred living spaces within these long buildings, and each one was significantly larger than the pitiful rooms that the Rebels had. On top of all that, the beds were more comfortable as well. It was best nights sleep Vidia had had yet. It was so nice for her sore back to have such a soft and comforting surface to rest against for once.

Maria hadn't exactly given her much information on this new living area; in fact, she pretty much sped off the second Vidia stepped through the door. Vidia voiced no complaint of that, though. She was quite happy ot have that nasty fairy out of her hair, though she definitely wasn't looking forward to having to spend more time with her the next day as General Irving took her arround Pixie Hollow. Vidia was already dreading that to begin with, though. She had seen more than enough the before, she didn't want to have to experinence, especially now that she would be seeing it from the point of view from the ones perpetrating the violence. In time like these, Vidia found it best to just keep reminding herself that she would be ending it soon, that it would all be worth it in the end.

The light of the morning sun was now creeping through the window pane and onto Vidias soundly sleeping face. The minute the lights hit her eyes, they slowly flickered open. Her vision swam into focus and her newest living space slowly revealed itself to her. For a brief moment she just about forgot where whe was, and that brief moment of ignorence was one of the best feelings Vidia had experienced in a long while. For those few seconds, Vidia didn't have a care in the world; she had no tasks or duties to fulfil, no dangerous missions to undertake. She was just an innocent fairy with nary a care in the world. But it was only for a few seconds before she remembered where she was and what she was doing, it it took nearly every fiber of her being to keep from screaming into her pillow in rage and frustration.

Vidia slowly sat up and rollede out of her comfortable new bed. It was the hardest awakening she had had to undertake yet; she really didnt want to leave that bed. When she was standing on her feet again, she began a slow walk around her room. She hadn't really taken the time to check it out last night because she was so tired. It was clean, well furnished, and just all around more pleasent then her last living area. The fact that she would get to come home tho this room everynight definitely took some weight off Vidias shoulders and made the upcoming trials seem a little less difficult.

Vidia stopped for a moment to check out one of the features that her Rebel room didn't have: a bookcase. On it were several good-sized books, some with spines thicker than Vidias arms. Some were quite dusty as well. Vidia brushed them off a bit, creating small dust clouds in the dull light that was shining through her window. None of the books seemed to have any titles or author names or any other kind of markings. Vidia really wanted to take a look at them at some point, but now would not be the right time. Outside she could hear shouting and movement. The other fairies were now on the move. She supposed it would be best if she headed outside as well. She turned to look at the books again before she left.

"Soon." She said quietly to herself, then headed for the door.

Outside, hundreds of soldiers were moving all around the area. Some taking off into the air, heading towards unknown destinations, while others gathered up in small groups being led by fairies with heavier and more elaborate armor. Viida pushed her way through the crowds, scanning her surroundings for Maria or Irving. Secretly she was hoping for Irving to meet her first since he was at least civil with her for the most part. But a feminine voice from behind her made her heart sink a bit.

"Vidia!" It shouted.

Vidia turned to see Maria standing not too far behind her. She gestured for her to come over, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her face. Vidia attempted to flitter over to her, but her wings couldn't lift her more a few feet (or inches in human scale) off the ground. Maria shook her head in annoyance as Vidia stumbled over to meet her.

"Decided to sleep in today, huh?" Maria shot at her.

"Sorry," Vidia replied. "General Irving didn't give me a specific time."

Maria shot her a nasty look.

"Excuse me?" She hissed. "Are you implying that Irving made an error in judgement?"

"What? No!" Vidia said nervously. "It's just that I..."

"I don't think I like your tone," Maria snapped at her. "I think you're getting an attitude problem, and I don't like it!"

Maria took a step towards Vidia, causing her to stumble backwards.

"I-I'm sorry, I just..." Vidia stuttered.

"Shut it!" Maria spat.

She raised her hand as though she were about to slap Vidia across the face. Vidia cringed at the impact she knew was coming, but before Marias blow could be struck, a voice from behind her caused her to stop.

"Getting along, are we ladies?" General Irving said.

Maria spun around to face him as he fluttered down next to them. Vidia breathed a small sigh of relief. She couldn't believe she actually felt safer with Irving around.

"Sorry I'm late, ladies." Irving said with a small smile. "I was a bit caught up in some rather nasty business with a local insurrectionist. All taken care of though; nothing to worry about."

Irving dusted his hands off. Looking closer, Vidia could see traces of blood on his hands and smeared across his armor. She swallowed hard, knowing that there was going to be much more where that came from.

"So, are we ready?" Irving asked the two fairies.

"Well, I am." Maria answered. "But little miss Thinks She's the Fastest Fairy of All hasn't received her Pixie Dust for the day." She jerked her thumb angrily towards Vidia.

"I-I'm sorry, I just didn't know I was..." Vidia began.

Irving raised a hand to silence her. Vidia relaxed a bit when she saw he was still smiling a bit.

"That's quite alright, dear." He told her calmly. "We're in no hurry. We'll take you to the Pixie Dust Well and get you squared away."

Maria scoffed.

"Not in any hurry?" She said. "Maybe you're not, and maybe she's not, but _I _certainly am! I have to oversee a new shipment of prisoners we've recived from a small scuffle last night. Plus it's been a while since I've had me a good long torture session with one of them; I'm starting to miss their screams."

Irving gave a quick chuckle and turned to look at Vidia, who still appeared to be very confused and nervous.

"Well, Vidia, I'm afraid I can't deprive Miss Maria of her duties and pleasures for too long," He said. "So I'm afraid we will have to make this quick."

Vidia did what she could to hide her relief. She didn't want them to see that she was actually glad that she wouldn't have to spend too much time with them.

"That's fine." Vidia said quickly.

"Yeah, it better be." Maria said nastily.

It took almost every fiber of Vidias being to keep herself from socking Maria right in the face.

...

The group lined up at the Pixie Dust Well, which was thankfully not too crowded. Irving and Maria stepped aside to let Vidia get closer to the shimering golden pile of Pixie Dust. Vidia approached it and kneeled down.

"You'll have to come here every morning for refils." Irving explained to her. "It's best to get here as early as possible, it tends to get rather crowded around here later in the day."

"Um, okay." Vidia mumbled as she dipped her hand into the Pixie Dust.

"Use the cups, you idiot!" Came Marias shrill voice from behind her. "We don't need fairies contaminating our only supply of Dust!"

"S-sorry." Vidia stuttered.

She noticed a small silver cup floating just above the shimmering golden Dust not too far from her. She grabbed it, scooped some of the sparkling material up and slowly poured it onto herself. It was a good feeling, relaxing and calming, she hadn't reaally taken the time to enjoy it the day before since she was so preoccupied with seeing Pixie Hollow. Suddenly, she felt a hand violently smack the cup from her, sending it flying back into the golden well.

"Honestly, was that speed you showed us yesterday a fluke or something?" Maria snapped at her. "Because you have been slower than molassus ever since!"

Vidia had to bite her lip to keep it from trembling. She could feel hot tears starting to sting the corners of her eyes. What had she gotten herslef into? She was stuck with two of the most psychotic fairies who had probably ever lived, though she had to admit Irving was doing a good job of hiding it. He was almost straight up pleasent.

"That's quite enough, Maria." Irving said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I don't need you getting all riled up this early in the day. We still have jobs to do after all." Then he added quietly. "Besides, I prefer your violent side much more in the... bedroom setting rather than in public, hm?"

Maria just shot him a scathing look, which Irving chuckled at. Vidia looked at the two, trying to hide the disgust on her face. She had managed to hear fairly clearly what Irving had said, and frankly, it made her want to vomit. Irving offered a hand to Vidia and pulled her to her feet.

"Well then, shall we?" He announced.

Vidia just nodded. And with that, the three took off for their grand little tour of Pixie Hollow.

What Vidia saw was pretty much the same thing she had seen the day before, but now it was from a very different perspective. Instead of talking with shame and sadness over the whole situation, Irving was quite jovial and proud of what he showed the young Fast-Flyer. He spoke highly of the hard work that his soldiers were putting in to keeping the peace within Pixie Hollow. What really made Vidia's spine tingle was when he referd to their cruel use of the light fairies as a genius method of using light to their advantage without the hassel of burning through torches. It was disturbing to say the least, but Vidia just nodded and kept a straight face, knowing full well she had to keep her disgust hidden.

As they approached Tinkers Nook, which was the place Vidia was dreading the most to see again, Irving turned to Vidia and said something to her that she honestly wasn't expecting.

"So tell me, Vidia," He began. "What do you make of everything we've told you so far? What are your opinions of us? Do you think this an effective way of keeping ordder in our land? I'd be intersted in hearing a new arrivals take on things."

Vidia had to admit that she was caught off guard by that question. Were they honestly allowing her to give an opion on things? Clarion hadn't done that for her; she just sort of threw everything at her and told her how she should feel.

Vidia had to think for a moment. Just how exactly was she supposed to express her opinions on all this brutality? She couldn't show too much disgust at it, but did that mean she had to talk approvingly of it?

"Well, sir," She began before being interrupted by Irivngs laughter.

"Oh, please stop with the 'Sir' nonsense, will you?" He laughed. "I suppose Maria put you up to that?"

Maria rolled her eyes.

"I thought that was what you wanted." She said coldly.

"No no," Irving replied. "Only the naughty ones have to show me that level of decency; the ones who have a lot to learn about respecting their superiors. Vidia here doesn't seem to have that problem." He gave Vidia a kind smile before turning back to Maria. "You,on the other hand..."

"But, Irving," Maria interjected in a mock seductive voice. "I thought you liked it when I was naughty."

Irving just scoffed. He normally didn't like bringing out that aspect of their relationship in front of others, especially new arrivals. But if she really wanted to spar with him, then he was more than willing. But before any of that, he wanted to hear from Vidia.

"I apoligize for my interruption, please continue." He said politely to the Fast-Flyer.

"Okay, um," Vidia began, trying to remember exactly what it was she wanted to say. "Well, I won't deny that your methods definitely seem... effective."

"Not effective enough to quell Rebelions apprantly." Maria mumbled loudly.

Irving silenced her with a look.

"But," Vidia continued. "It just seems like... I don't know. Is this really the only option? Aren't there other more... ethical methods of dealing with these kinds of problems?"

Maria snorted loudly.

"Ethical?" She snapped. "Don't you think we tried that already? These fairies were given every oppertunity by us to live rich fullfilling lives. But when we tried to take care of that little problem we called 'The Animal Talents' they decided they didn't want our previous form of generosity. So, we changed our tactics a bit, and now... you see the result before you." she waved her arm over the ravaged land that they flew over. "Let me tell you something, Vidia." She continued. "It may not be pretty, what you're seeing now, but if you had arrived before all this, during the rule of Gisselle, oh your stomach would churn the moment you first would lay your eyes upon this land. It was worse, way worse than it is now. Let me also say this: do you think we enjoy having to dish out such cold hard justice to innocents? I mean, I like seeing the truly guilty ones get punished severely, but some of these fairies are not at that level. Some of them are merely misguided fools that need to be brought around, even if it means having to come to a sticky finish."

Irving chuckled a bit.

"I thought you liked sticky finishes, Maria." He muttered to her.

Maria gave an involuntary gag, which made Irving laugh even harder. Hey, she started it, he was gonna finish it. He then turned to face a rather puzzled looking Vidia.

"Look at it this way, dear Vidia." He said. "If you see a poor, sick and hungry fairy wallowing in it's own filth, do you put an arm around her and comfort her with useless words and false hopes, or do you beat her until she learns to take care of herself, grow her own food and such?"

"I-I..." Was all Vidia could get out. She was simply baffled by what she was hearing.

"What we are giving these ungrateful wretches is a little thing called tough love." Irving continued. "It may not be pretty, but it's the best option there is; and it is what we will continue to do until they learn to appreciate it."

There was a profound silence between the three now. Vidia deeply contemplated what Irving and Maria had just told her. What these fairies were doing... it was wrong, it was evil, she knew it was, and yet, why did she feel this slight urge of agreement with him?

The three continued on for a while, viewing more an more of Pixie Hollows many villages. Vidia saw more than she did the first day, including even more bullying and cruelty of the guards towards civilian fairies. Random beatings, a few more public executions (which the group mercifully would always leave from before they could be enacted) and various other forms of sadism.

It was when they approached Tinkers Nook again that Vidia began to feel physically sick to her stomach. She really didn't want to have to see this place again. Irving spent much of their tour of this particular township explaining the role of the Tinkers in creating their weapons and armor.

"I have to admit though," Irving said. "It's this particular group of fairies that worries me the most. It they were to form an uprising and refuse to aid us, we would be in some serious trouble. We do what we can to keep them in line, though. I just hope it'll be enough."

As they flew over the center of the village, Vidias eyes fell upon the platform where she had witnessed the grusome execution of a brave fairy she wished she could've met. There was still dried blood caked into the wood, as well as the pole in the center of it. Vidia couldn't bear to look at it for too long.

After a while, when the group had reached the end of Tinkers Nook, Irving gave small yawn and stretched. In the distance, a faint yelling could be heard.

"Well, thats about it then, Vidia," He said. "Now I will need you to..." He trailed off and turned his attention towards the direction of the distant yelling.

He quickly took off towards it with Maria close behind him. Vidia follwed them. The shouting became much clearer the closer they got. It wasn't long before they were able to make out some of the words that were being shouted.

"Cast off your shackles of oppression!" the voice roared. "Join Clarion in her rightous cause to overthrow the evil tyrant Veronica! With your aid, we can win through to absolute victory!"

"Oh, great," Maria muttered. "It's her again."

**Deepest apoligies for the long wait! Finals were tough, but they're over now! this chapter was going to be longer, but I decided I didn't want to keep you all waiting much longer, so I decided to post it as is. Hopefully it's good enough for you all. The next chapter won't take nearly as long, I promise, and it's gonna be a particularily nasty one. Thank you all again for your patience and reviews, especially to you, Anarri2012, your kind words have really been nice to hear. :) See you next chapter!**


	14. Nailed

**Loyal readers, before this chaper starts, I have to give you all a bit of bummer news. I swore I would never abandon this story, I promised I would not leave it unfinished. I stand by that promise, but here's the thing: recently I've been sort of losing the urge to write this story as quickly as I have been. It's not because of lack of support or anything, I'm very pleased with the support I've been getting, but Tinker Bell in general has just been slipping from my interest. I just haven't been able to put my heart into this as well as I should. That said, after this chapter, I'm putting this story on hiatus for a while. I don't know how long exactly. I just need some time to take a break and collect my thoughts. I am NOT abandoning this story! I'm merely taking a break from it. If I try to continue it in the state I'm feeling now, it woulnd't turn out as well a I would want it to. I would rather you all have to wait a long while for something really great instead of rushing out something really half-assed every week. It sucks, I know, but it just feels right. Please don't think poorly of me! I have been deeply touched by the kind words I've gotten on this story! I promise that you will see the end of it, it'll just take a little longer than I originally intended. Thanks for your understanding!**

"We can end this if we stand together!" The voice rang out. "Stand up for what you know is right! Clarion will lead us to victory if we simply all agree to follow her! Mother Dove herself as declared it! We must follow her to glorious freedom!"

The voice became louded and more pronounced as Vidia and the others got closer to it. They soon came to the edge of Tinkers Nook, where a small group of fairies was gathered around a makeshift wooden platform, smaller than the exection one in the middle of town. On it was a young firery haired Tinker, shouting her speech loudly and with real gusto, waving her hands in grands sweeps around the crowd that had gathered before her.

Vidia took this time to gage the expressions on her two companions faces. Maria looked as annoyed as she always did, but Irving seemed almost genuinely ammused by the young renegade before him. He even managed to give what sounded like a chuckle. Vidia turned back to look at the firey speaker.

"Veronica and her soldiers have tormented us for too long now!" She cried out "We are large in number! All we must do is stand up to them! Show them that we will not be pushed around any longer! We can defeat them if we stand together, united under Clarion!"

By this point, General Irving had decided he'd heard enough. He stepped forward, Vidia and Maria following close behind. The crowd turned to look at the three approaching fairies. When they saw who the sparrow-man was who was leading the two fairies, they immediately parted to allow them through. Many decided it was better to just go back to their jobs of creating weeapons and armor. Whatever Irving was planning to do with this insubordinate fairy, it was something they knew would not be pretty. It wasn't long before the whole crowd had dispersed, leaving only the three newcomers, who stood there watching the young Tinker on the platform. She continued her speech as though she hadn't noticed that she no longer had her crowd.

"Rise! Rise up in glorious revolution!" She roared. "United under Clarion, Veronica will fall!"

At that point, Irving brought his hands together in a slow clap. This caught the young Tinkers attention. She gazed down at the three fairies before her with a look of deepest loathing on her face.

"What a stirring speech!" Irving announced grandly. "Can't say I agree with it, but your vocabulary has certainly improved since you first began these little acts of insubordination!"

The Tinkers brow furrowed as she glared at the arrogant General. She spat bitterly at the ground in front of him, cursing herself for not being able to land her loogie on his boots. Irving didn't seem the least bit phased by this. In fact, his grin became even wider. The firey haired Tinker bared her teeth angrily at him.

"You cannot keep us down forever, Irving!" She shouted defiantly. "Our numbers are growing every day! Soon you will be out-numbered and over-powered, and Clarion will take her rightful place as Queen of Pixie Hollow! Mother Dove Herself has decreed it!"

Now Irving was laughing hard and loud, joined by Maria, who was chuckling nastily. Vidia remained blank-faced, not knowing exactly what to make of the situation.

"Oh that's rich!" Irving said, gasping for air. "You honestly think we give a damn about what that bird thinks? I mean, she did such a wonderful job selecting our first Queen, did she not?"

"Mother Dove knows all!" The Tinker cried. "The hardships we had to endure were all part of Her divine plan for us all! It would've worked out in the end had we been patient! But now Veronica has gone against Her divine will! She has tainted this land with her evil! Mark me, Irving, her actions, your actions... will not go unpunished! We will win through in the end! It is Mother Doves will!"

The laughing stopped, and it was eerily silent now. Maria turned to look at Vidia with an annoyed expression.

"You see what we were talking about earlier?" She said to her. "This is the kind of ungrateful attitude we have to put up with everyday from these fairies. They reject our willingness to help them because a magic bird says it's wrong! Unbelievable!" She turned to the Tinker. "You have been warned three times now to stop with this disturbance of the peace! Now our patience as has reached it's end! You will leave now or you will die!"

The Tinker appeared to plant her feet more firmly on the platform. The look of defiance in her face was more apparant than ever.

"Never!" She shouted. "I have sworn on Mother Dove Herself that I would never abandon this post until the day Veronica has fallen, and I will honor that promise no matter what! I will never abandon this post!"

Maria exhaled sharply. She drew an arrow and and crossbow, which was the weapon of choice for Veronicas army (more accurate than a standard bow) and took aim at her.

"Have it your way!" She sneered.

Before she could fire, however, Irving forcefully lowered the weapon, much to Maria's shock and confusion.

"Now, hold on one moment, Maria," He said. "I personally see nothing wrong with her staying on this platform, doing what she's doing."

Maria gave him a blank stare. Had he just lost his nerve or something? Because this was a hell of a time to go soft!

"You... what?" She stuttered.

Irving snickered at his partners confusion. He turned to look at Vidia for a second, and saw that she looked almost as confused as Maria, which ammused him even more.

"Hey, if she has indeed sworn on her beloved Diety to remain here, then who are we to tell her otherwise?" He explained. "However, she is only a mere fairy like the rest of us, and we are all bound to make mistakes from time to time. One day she may find herself unable to stand up there much longer, and she may very well leave her post, thus breaking the oath she swore. That would certainly be no good. We can't have promises that are made on beings as 'powerful' as her Mother Dove broken. So... I say we help her out a bit taking a certain... extreme measuse to ensure she never leaves this platform."

Maria's confusion seemed to melt away when she gaged the expression on Irvings face, which had suddenly become frighteningly sinister. Almost as if Maria could read his mind, her mouth stretched into a devilish grin. Vidia could feel her heart pounding harder and harder as she began to realize that this was going to end nastily. Meanwhile, the firey haired Tinker remained as defiant looking as ever.

"Vidia?" Irving said, turning to his new recruit. "I've a task for you. A relatively small one, so don't be too nervous. I want you to go into that building over there," he pointed to one of the large tree-like buildings that made up Tinkers Nook. "And I want you to fetch me a hammer and four nails. There should be plenty lying around in there, and if anyone asks you what you are doing, just tell them General Irving sent you."

Vidia could barely hide the fear in her eyes at hearing irvings request. Just what exactly did he want with four nails and a hammer? Horrible images began to fill her mind, but she kept her face straight and gave Irving a nod. She then started towards the building he had indicated.

When she got inside, she saw a vast arrangement of long tables lined with hundreds of Tinker fairies, all of them hammering away on large plates of snail shell armor and swords. Vidia noticed on a smaller table seperate from the longer one was a pile of thick, long nails, much more resembling todays railroad spikes. Vidia grabbed four of them, cringing at how rusty and jagged they felt. She looked around to see if any Tinkers were curious to her presence, but none of them seemed to pay her any mind. They were appeared to tired and beaten down to care about what she was doing.

Vidia then noticed a spare hammer lying on the floor next to one of the seated Tinkers. Deciding it would be better not to bother her, Vidia snuck up behind her and swiftly snatched up the hammer. She then turned and bolted for the exit. She was only too happy to get out of there, it was simply to depressing.

Vidia flew back over to Irving and Maria, who were eagarly awaiting her. Irving held out his hand, and Vidia handed over the objects he had requested.

"Thank you, Vidia." He said briskly. "Now, prepare yourself for a little demonstration of our 'tough love.' "

With that, he and Maria started towards the firey haired Tinker, who still hadn't budged an inch since Vidia had left. Vidia felt like she was about to pass out now. She was starting to have a pretty good feeling of where this was going. She wanted to look away, but for some reason, she couldn't will herself to do so. It would've been the equivilant of watching a train wreck: a horrible catyclysm of destruction, yet at the same time it's hard to look away.

Irving and Maria where now standing on either side of the Tinker, and without a single word, Irving land a devesting punch right in her gut. The Tinker collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. Maria immediately seized this opportunity to hold her down. She forced her to hold both her hands out palms down directly in front of her. The Tinker began to breath intensly, but she never screamed or made any attempt to beg them to stop.

Irving brought one of the nails directly above one of her hand and pressed it in slightly. He lifted the hammer above it, waited a few moments with an animalistic grin on his face, then slammed thye hammer down on top of hit.

The sickening clack it would've made was drowned out by the shrill scream of pain the ripped through the air. Vidia watched in horror as Irving brought the hammer down again and again, driving the spike further and further into his victim. Blood oozed out from the top and bottom of the Tinkers ruined hand. She screamed and shrieked non-stop until Irving finished hammering. He then took a second nail and repeated the process with her other hand, causing her screaming to resume.

Vidia was devestated. How could she stand here and let such a horrible act of crulety take place?

_'Because it's _n_ot part of the plan.' _She reminded herself.

She cursed the two fairies before her. She couldn't wait to make them pay for this atrocity! She knew that day was still far off, but it would come eventually, and when it did, she would savor every moment of what she would put them through.

With the hands firmly nailed into place, Irving and Maria moved to the rear of the hysterically sobbing Tinker. Grabing another nail, Irving positioned it right over the back of her knee. This time, Vidia managed to turn away. There was no way she could look at that, no matter how hard she tried to keep watching. However, she was unable to plug her ears before the sound of the large spike smahing through the Tinkers knee reached her, met with what sounded like the howl of a dying animal. Vidia squeezed her ears shut and just stood there, waiting for it to end.

It was about a minute later when she felt a hand fall gently onto her shoulder. She turned to see that Irving was standing right behind her, looking rather apathetic. Maria, on the other hand, looked as annoyed as she always did.

"I'm sorry," Irving said almost sincerly. "That may have been a bit too much for someone as young as you. I just thought you should have a visual example of how we deal with those who stand against us. Are you alright?"

Vidia could only manage a weak nod. She took a quick glance behind him to see the firey haired Tinker in a kneeling postion, bleeding profusely from her injuries and sobbing and shaking violently.

"Tough love, Vidia, tough love." Maria said, snapping the Fast-Flyers attention back to them.

"Now then," Irving began. "We'll have to end our little tour here. I was planning to take you back to your barracks, but I wasn't expecting to have to deal with that Tinker today. As a result, I'm late for overseeing an expansion plan in Buttercup Canyon, and as you know, Maria needs to check on her new prisoners. I trust you can find your own way back?"

Vidia nodded again, a little more stongly this time. She _was_ starting to get a lay of the land. Besides, the baracks were reight next to the Home Tree, and the Home Tree was pretty hard to miss.

"Alright then," Irving continued. "I'll let you have the rest of this day to gather your thoughts. Tomorrow, though, you begin your work for us. I'll come find you early in the morning and explain more then. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Vidia said solemnly.

And without another word, Irving and Maria took off in different directions. Vidia remained motionless for a while. She couldn't take her eyes off the pile of agony that was the Tinker on the platform. Other fairies that passed by gave one quick glance at her and quickly looked away. They had seen enough evil for one day. Vidia, however was unable to look away. Despite how badly injured the Tinker was, she didn't appear to be anywhere near death. In fact, it was going to be a while before she she could even bleed out properly.

Vidia finally managed to tear her eyes away from the hideous display. She sighed sadly and took off for her home, the Tinker still whimpering loudly as she flew over her.

...

Vidia sat silently on her soft bed. Her mind was racing with a million thoughts, but the one that stood out the most was like a loud voice in the back of her head.

_'I want out!' _It shrieked.

It was true: Vidia no longer wanted to do this. She no longer cared that it would mean the end of Veronica if she did. She couldn't bring herself to take part in acts such as the one she saw today. Barely two days old, and she had already had a tremendous burden thrust upon her, and it was a burden she no longer wanted to bear.

Then she remembered: tonight was to be her first rendevous with Creed at their designated location. There was a lot she wanted to tell him, and the thing that took point over all else was that she wanted out, and she was going to get what she wanted, even if it turned ugly between them.

**This is NOT goodbye! It's more like "See you again in time." I just need a break is all. Please continue to check this story once in a while. I promise it won't go unfinished! I'll see you all again in time...**


End file.
